Wild wild space
Veronica FanzioWhen Earth goes south, cowboys go all the way up. The Space Rush of 2020s has something to do with settler colonialism.
Search results for Wild Systems
Next Generation: Wandering through the post wilderness with Melissa Schwarz
Ruben BaartThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
Reconnecting with wildlife through biodiverse meditations
Ruben BaartSleep and dream like a koala, relax under biodiversity and feel the meditative effect of artificial wildlife.
Indomitable Flock of Balloons Got Wild
Francesca Barchiesi1.5 million balloons were released in once to create a spectacular show becoming uncontrollable and dangerous.
Wild Birds Illegally Immigrating to City Zoo
Koert van MensvoortBesides the extensive collection of animals from around the planet, the Amsterdam City Zoo Artis also houses some local wild species on its premises who immigrated into the zoo on …
Crops Running Wild
Minke KampmanOnly for the title already I wanted to post this as soon as I read it on Nature.com. The newsarticle is entitled " GM crop escapes into the American wild ." Brilliant! Let's walk …
We Love Cities, so Do Wild Animals
Alessia AndreottiHow wild animals and cities are adapting to each other.
How animal filters unmask the estranged relation to our wild self
Meike SchipperWould you like a dog snout, cat eyes or fluffy bunny ears? The choice is yours. Virtual selfie filters have become a widespread phenomenon on social media platforms such as …
Escaped Pet Birds Teach Wild Cockatoos how to Talk
Koert van MensvoortIn some parts of Australia it is no exception to hear voices when there are no people near. The voices are the chatter of wild cockatoos that where taught words and sentences from escaped domesticated cockatoos.
Wildgruen
Dr NaturalMandy Meißner's "Wildgruen", a plant that can move and communicate. In her view, plants need to be freed from their isolation, both in the way that they can only lean towards the …
In the Wilderness
Koert van MensvoortRecently, I had some free time to return to my old passion of landscape painting. But somehow things seemed to have changed in the wilderness.
Immune Systems
Koert van MensvoortQuite a multi-layeredness of the artificially strengthened immune systems they have in place at the Thai border. Microbes and terrorist: hand in your passport. Peculiar image of …
Wild bikes
sebastiaanBikes seem to be a new life form. They are everywhere in the city. On the street, in bike parking, but also just as plentiful on the bottom of channels, on top of street lanterns …
Next Nature Lecture @ Wilderness Festival
Koert van MensvoortWhat are you doing this weekend? If you happen to be in the neighborhood you may want to attend the Next Nature lecture at the Wilderness Festival in Oxfordshire. Anthony and the …
Anthropo-scene #5: Industrial Wilderness
ChristianOld ironworks in Germany have become more natural than "real" nature.
Projecting wildlife
Arnoud van den HeuvelCarolina Sobecka released her tiger into the night, projected by a moving car. The animal's movements are programmed to correspond to the speed of the car. As the car moves, the …
Wild Ones
Koert van MensvoortTypically when we look at nature we exclude ourselves. Finally there is a book looking at people looking at animals.
How to plant seeds with your shoes
Selin KirImagine helping nature restore itself simply by going for a run. In a fusion of fashion and conservation, London-based designer Kiki Grammatopoulos has introduced her concept …
Colonizing Mars with plants, not humans
MaithriThe idea of colonizing Mars has become the big speculative future of humanity on Earth. But, artist Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg has radically different ideas to contribute to the …
Custom-grown bones, and other wild advances in regenerative medicine
Vanessa Bates RamirezThe human body has always been an incredible machine, from the grand feats of strength and athleticism it can accomplish down to the fine details of each vein, nerve, and cell. …
Next Generation: Simulating textile ecosystems with Scarlett Yang
Ruben BaartThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your coordinates as we …
This podcast aims to help design better food systems
Ruben BaartThe podcast Food by Design was created by Sarah Codraro and Sandeep Pahuja, and is hosted by Sandeep. According to the makers "Our food system is not 'broken'. It’s working …
Next Generation: Designing ecosystems of technology with Maike Gebker
Ruben BaartThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
Totem Animals for the Anthropocene
Ted HeistmanInvasive species become the animal symbols for a man-made world.
Time Between Emergence and Design
carolinenevejanPreviously, experiences of time emerged from nature as given – offering seasons, the rhythm of humans, plants and animals. Nowadays, people integrate nature-time, body-time, inner-time, clock-time, and global 24/7 systems-time. Human beings, in past, current and next natures, have to deal with emergence and design of time in order to survive.
Living Among Pests – Designing the Biosynthetic City
Joyce HwangJoyce Hwang discusses the challenges for designers, and gains for citizens, of living in a truly biosynthetic city.
Can AI become addicted?
Thomas MoynihanIn 1953, a Harvard psychologist thought he discovered pleasure – accidentally – within the cranium of a rat. With an electrode inserted into a specific area of its brain, the rat …
Enter the symbiocene
Glenn AlbrechtWhat if we would use the idea of symbiosis as the basis for the next period of Earth’s history?
Out of Control
The Made and the Born: Neo-Biological civillization, written by Kevin Kelly, excerpt from Out of Control : The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems and the Economic World, …
Could Biomimicry Help us Solve the Refugee Crisis?
Daniel FragaFrom nutrients within an organism, to organisms within collectives, to populations within a territory and so on - nature offers models on how to deal with highly complex systems.
The next generation xenobots are here
Simon CoghlanIn 2020, scientists made global headlines by creating “ xenobots ” – tiny “ programmable ” living things made of several thousand frog stem cells. These pioneer xenobots could …
Interview: Curator Ilari Laamanen on Momentum9, the Nordic Biennial
Ruben BaartWe recently spoke to Ilari Laamanen, to peel the outcrops of Momemtum9, and unveil the overlapping themes to the next nature philosophy.
This startup is growing sushi-grade salmon from cells in a lab
Vanessa Bates RamirezAs the ills of factory farming become more pronounced, people are increasingly gravitating towards vegetarian or pescatarian diets. Besides producing a large percentage of our …
24 hours economy
Rolf CoppensCould the biggest, most successful discount store in the world really meet your every need? Twenty-four hours a day? That's what the TV spots are saying. Really living there. …
Long line of cars
Koert van MensvoortThere's a long line of cars And they're trying to get through There's no single explanation There's no central destination But this long line of cars Is trying to get through And …
Traffic nature
Rolf CoppensJapanese scientists made people drive in circles to find out how traffic jams get born. Related: Human Swarms | Harvesting Traffic Information through GSMs | The things we design …
Next Nature Kills
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkToday, 122 years ago, on 13 september 1899, Henry Bliss became the first pedestrian known to be killed by an automobile in North America. Although not the first, he was certainly …
Next Nature Server Dementia
Over the last few days the Next Nature website has been suffering symptoms of dementia due to a hardware failure at our very fancy and luxurious web hosting provider Media Temple …
Complexity and Evolving Synthetic Soil
Rachel ArmstrongTwenty-first century society draws from a world that is less determined by objects and increasingly shaped by connectivity. The clear either/or distinctions that formerly informed …
How Data Reformed Politics
Ingmar NieuweboerBig data is reforming politics, but is it for the better?
Lab or nature: scientists are debating the origins of COVID-19
Ruben BaartWe need to talk about COVID-19. Again (or, still). One of the main questions about SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has for a while been about its origins. Most viruses …
Time gets bendy in Disney Pixar's new film
Marit BeerseSpoiler alert: this article explains a key plot point, but we don’t give away anything you won’t see in trailers. At the beginning of the new Disney Pixar film, Lightyear, Buzz …
The Biosphere Code Manifesto
NextNature.netDuring the event The Biosphere Code, Stockholm University researcher Victor Galaz and colleagues outlined a manifesto for algorithms in the environment.
The Risk of Technological Unemployment
Daniel FragaStephen Hawking gives his opinion on what technological unemployment, aka machines taking over our jobs, can represent for future human societies.
The church of AI
Linda ValentaWould you pray to a Robot deity? A group of Japanese buddhists is already doing so. Meet Mindar , the robot divinity shaped after the buddhist Goddess of Mercy, also known as …
Exploring Next Nature (2004)
Koert van MensvoortThe first essay ever written on Next Nature, published in Next Nature Pocket and in Entry Paradise, New Design Worlds . ( download pdf ) (German version: Erkundungen im Nächste …
Next Nature lecture at Lift Conference
Lecture this Friday on Next Nature by Mieke Gerritzen at Lift conference in Geneva, Switzerland. Expect wild trees, wild beaches, wild animals, wild implants and wild corporations.
The AI Revolution Is On
Ruben DaasSteven Levy writes in Wired on the unexpected turn of the Artificial Intelligence revolution: rather than whole artificial minds, it consists of a rich bestiary of digital fauna, …
Living robots made from frog stem cells may revolutionize medicine
Freya HutchingsAt just a millimeter wide, Xenobots are “neither a traditional robot nor a known species of animal", they are "a new class of artifact: a living, programmable organism”, says …
Hunger Games for Robots
Yunus Emre DuyarHow would you feel if robots inherited ethical complications of existence?
Re-introducing Extinct Species
Margherita OlivoExtinct European bisons are being reintroduced in parks. But what makes a national park?
Here’s how the Dutch are embracing blockchain in the polder
Coen van de VenSmiling broadly and rattling with enthusiasm, the 33-year-old Rylana Doesburg shows off a QR-code on her phone: an angular pattern of black and white squares. “Thanks to this …
The return of trade: Blockchain technology is enabling trade to make a fierce comeback
Koen WeselBefore money came into existence, trading was all we knew. Farmers in China traded their spades for food and other goods, and this continued up until a point where most spades …
Breaking Point?
John Zerzan, published in Green Anarchy issue #24 - Spring/Summer 2007 The rapidly mounting toll of modern life is worse than we could have imagined. A metamorphosis rushes …
One Generation in, Dolphins Still Transmit Human Tricks
Allison GuyDolphins in Port Adelaide, Australia, have been observed performing a remarkable trick : tail-walking, a trait so rare it has only been seen in the wild one other time. More …
Interview: Rachel Armstrong, Innovative Scientist Who Wants to Grow Architecture
Alessia AndreottiRachel Armstrong discusses living buildings, Venice's foundations, millennial nature and how to improve our future.
Slowing down to start up: Here's the first chapter of our crypto deep dive series
Koen WeselIt takes years to design a new banknote, having hundreds of people working on every little detail, all done under the watchful eye of governments and professionals. However today, …
The future infrastructure of the blockchain might be green and humane
Koen WeselThe connection we share through the Internet has laid the foundation for a whole new digital infrastructure, in which blockchain technology is heralded by many believers for being …
Humans Are the Sex Organs of Technology
Written by Kevin Kelly , published in The Technium . I claim that technology has its own agenda. What is the evidence that technology as a whole, or the technium as I call it, is …
Razorius Gilletus – On the Origin of a Next Species
Koert van MensvoortIs the evolution of the single bladed razor into an exorbitant five–bladed vibrating gizmo the outcome of human needs, or is there another force in play? Say hello to Razorius …
An Ecstatic Dialogue with Richard Doyle
Jason SilvaWhen techno–optimist and fellow at the Hybrid Reality Institute , Jason Silva, meets with Richard Doyle, author of Darwin's Pharmacy: Sex, Plants and the Evolution of the …
Black Wolves Have Dogs to Thank
Allison GuyBlack wolves should probably not exist. The same species as their gray relatives, these wolves have a genetic mutation that causes them to produces excess melanin, a pigment …
Pyramid of Technology: How technology becomes nature in seven steps
Koert van MensvoortHow technology becomes nature in seven steps
Intimate Technology: the Battle for Our Body and Behaviour
Rinie van EstTechnology is nestling itself within us and between us, has knowledge about us and can act just like us.
Jazz-Playing Robot Challenges Human-Computer Interactions
Margherita OlivoA musical robot able to improvise a jazz solo in response to an actual person performing jazz.
Gameplay of the Crowds
Len KromkampAustralian programmer started a social experiment called “Twitch Plays Pokémon”. Over a Million People Play Pokémon in Social Experiment
The First Beauty Contest Judged by AI
Ruben BaartThe first beauty contest judged by complex algorithms has sparked controversy after biased results.
Nature-Inspired Nano-Robots
Ingmar NieuweboerResearchers developed tiny, autonomous robots able to repair circuits.
Rating the Reputation Economy
Lewis JustOur online reputation is becoming a valuable currency that is hard to earn and easy to lose.
How to Fool a Neural Network
Jack CaulfieldA neural network helps computers with image recognition. It is usually tough to fool. But one group of researchers has found a way to reliably trick it.
Future AI may hallucinate and get depressed — just like the rest of us
Tristan GreeneScientists believe the introduction of a hormone-like system, such as the one found in the human brain, could give AI the ability to reason and make decisions like people do. …
The Coronation
Charles EisensteinFor years, normality has been stretched nearly to its breaking point, a rope pulled tighter and tighter, waiting for a nip of the black swan’s beak to snap it in two. Now that the …
Google Ads talk back!
Hendrik-Jan Grievink‘Advertising is the cave art of the 20th century’, Marshall McLuhan said. Advertisings are mythical depictions of hunting and gathering rituals, that don’t take place on some …
Virtual Money Is a Pleonasm
Koert van MensvoortHave you heard the buzz on virtual money in online games? Some years ago the first virtual millionaire was announced, yet there have also been reports on people being practically …
The Cat Parasite that Sells Motorcycles
Allison GuyThe protozoa Toxoplasma gondii makes an unobtrusive home in nearly every warm-blooded species, but it's prolific life is limited: Toxo can only reproduce in cat stomachs. The …
Cigarettes: Bad for You, Good for Birds
Allison GuyBirds use whatever they can get their beaks on to build nests, including cigarette butts. Surprising new research from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México shows that …
Nature Ludens: The Natural World at Play
Rachel ArmstrongAn ingenious Russian crow that used a lid as a snowboard to slide down a snowy roof persuaded millions of YouTube viewers that animals are not merely beasts of burden – they also …
New Robot Turns Poo into Energy
Allison GuyThough disgusting, sewage is an abundant, nutrient-rich resource. Researchers at the University of West England have taken advantage of this fact by creating a robot that turns …
App Brings Big Data to Birdwatching
Allison GuyThe eBird app is bringing big data to bird spotting.
GM Mosquitoes: No Olfaction, No Sting
Alessia AndreottiEngineering mosquitoes to ignore the scent of human flesh.
Robots Cooperate to Save Coral Reefs
Alessia AndreottiRobots use swarm intelligence to rebuild coral reefs.
Drones Could Be the Next Dog Sitters
Alessia AndreottiA drone take a dog out for a walk, guiding and monitoring the pet.
A Robot Scientist Could Cure Malaria
Yunus Emre DuyarAlthough there seems to be no effective drug in use to cure malaria, a scientist robot named Eve may have found a cure.
Artificial Brain Able to Perceive, Learn and Forget
Alexandra BremersScientists in Russia have taken a next step in the development of artificial intelligence by creating a "brain" that is able to educate itself.
IBM Predicts Artificial Intelligence Future
Koert van MensvoortWhile the Watson technology is exponentially increasing its processing power on an annual basis and steadily moving from answering trivia questions, to cooking advice, onto medical advice, it is about time we confront it with the million dollar question: "Watson, what do you want?".
Medical Microbots Used to Perform Biopsy
Hessel HoogerhuisWith recent successful experiments, we may see doctors switching from the single forceps to hordes of so-called microgrippers.
MIT Lets Robot Cheetah Off Leash
Hessel HoogerhuisRobot Cheetah has grown up! Scientists at MIT's Biometrics Robotics Lab have now trained their robo-feline Cheetah to detect obstacles and jump over hurdles as it runs, making it …
The Secret Service is Preparing for Drones
Yunus Emre DuyarThe U.S. Secret Service is conducting test drone flights over Washington, D.C.
Cars Are Ready to Recognize Us
Alejandro AlvarezWe already recognize faces in our cars, now it is time for our cars to recognize our faces.
A Cryptocurrency Helping to Cure Cancer
Lewis JustPart two of a ten part series exploring the design of an invisible technology: money.
The First Self-Driving City Coach
Ruben BaartMercedes-Benz just revealed the first self-driving city coach and took it to the streets of Amsterdam for a test drive.
Meet the Firefighter Drone
NextNature.netMeet the firefighter drone, she is the best at extinguishing fires and keep every species safe!
The Autonomous Tractor Is Here
Ruben BaartCase IH debuted their autonomous farm tractor that plants, monitors crops and harvests, all without a driver.
AI Draws New Worlds from Its Artificial Memory
Siebren de VosAn AI draws streets and spaces stitching together its artificial memories of real places.
Slaughterbots Video Depicts Killer Bots Nightmare
Koert van MensvoortThis seven-minute video, titled 'Slaughterbots', shows a future in which palm-sized autonomous drones commit untraceable massacres.
A full course cabbage meal to discuss the problem of agricultural over-abundance
Belen MunozLast night we were invited to celebrate the plenty at the third edition of the Neo-Futurist Dinner series at Mediamatic in Amsterdam. This time, the night was hosted by Dutch …
Chinese farmers are using AI to help rear the world’s biggest pig population
James VincentIt’s been called China’s “pork miracle.” For centuries, pig-rearing in the country was predominantly a backyard occupation. (The etymology of the Chinese character for “home” …
The future of the ECO Coin
Koen WeselHow can we design a cryptocurrency for the better of humanity and ecology? In this last chapter of the crypto deep dive series , we will dissect two kinds of blockchain …
Managing the data deluge: Twitter as a tool for ecological research
Marianne MessinaAs early as 2009-10 , researchers were looking at Twitter data mining as a way to predict the incidence of flu. At the time, the H1N1 virus, or “swine flu,” had made the jump from …
Next Generation: Combining AI with human creativity with Sofia Crespo
Freya HutchingsThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Would you like to see your work here? Get in touch …
Elephants are geodesigners
Jeppe Aagaard KristensenImagine you’re in a hot air balloon flying over an African savanna in the late growing season. Below, herds of elephants, zebras, wildebeests and rhinos roam a mosaic landscape …
The things we design end up designing us
Dr Natural"While battling the forces of nature, man has become more and more independent of physical conditions. At the same time, however, he has become more and more dependent of …
Eethapnl
Arnoud van den HeuvelPeculiar image created by Matías Lecaros (Santiago, Chile), promoting that famous boardgame . Inspired -of course- by Damien Hirsts Some Comfort Gained from the Acceptance of the …
Google DNA search
Rolf CoppensLast year Google invested four million in 23andme , a commercial research center that maps out your DNA for 1000 bucks. Now Google also invested in Navigenics , a company that …
Hail Control Gun
Arnoud van den HeuvelA single hail storm can destroy the year's harvest. For over 25 years, this gun has been used by vine and fruit growers in France, Spain, Austria and Belgium for one purpose: …
Last night I saw a magnificent flock of Visas
Koert van Mensvoort"Visa has elements of Jeffersonian democracy, it has elements of the free market, of government franchising – almost every kind of organization you can think about. But it is none …
Oil Price Threatens Biofuel Firms
Dr NaturalEconomy is ecology? Technology Review writes the price of oil has dipped to levels that could be far too low for many advanced-biofuel startups to succeed, especially those that …
Colalife
Rolf CoppensCoca-Cola© succeeds in what most NGO's try to achieve: getting the goods to the poor in the 3rd world Africa. For most people there, a Coke is easier to get and cheaper than a …
Conversations at the doctor
Koert van MensvoortA mother takes her sick child to the doctor. Who, after careful investigation, concludes the child has a 'virus infection'. The kid is offended and shouts: "But Doctor! I am not a …
From Genes, to Memes, to Temes
Koert van MensvoortSusan Blackmore studies memes: ideas that replicate themselves from brain to brain like a virus. She makes a bold new argument: Humanity has spawned a new kind of meme, the teme, …
New Media 80.000 BC
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkEvery medium was new oneday . This point is beautifully illustrated in the movie Quest for fire ( La Guerre de feu by Jean-Jacques Annaud, 1981), a must-see for Next Nature …
Pollution trading – savior or scam?
Koert van MensvoortWhile most people are still prudently changing light bulbs and recycling coffee cups to fight global warming – or at least their gnawing conscience – policy-makers have long moved …
The Biodegradable Credit Card
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkNo question about it, Americans have an overconsumption problem. The total outstanding balance of bank-issued credit cards per consumer was $5,710 in December 2008, according to …
Connected
Koert van MensvoortThis is your life. We concur. Self portrait by Kasey McMahon made of s teel, CAT5 and other data cables . Photo by Kevin Rolly . Peculiar image of the week.
Cultivating the Money-verse
Orestis TsinalisAlright, we were mistaken. Money isn't virtual after all. A recent TV commercial of a Greek bank shed light on the issue. Your money lives, is anthropomorphic and inhabits an …
ECO Currency – Explanation Video
Koert van MensvoortEarlier we have discussed the ECO currency , now here is an explanation video. The ECO currency is an alternative currency to express environmental value. People who conduct labor …
European Parliament goes Next Nature
Koert van MensvoortAlright the title "Making Perfect Life" ' may sound a bit 20th-century-modernistic-techno-optimistic-naive, but for the rest we are confident this conference is going to be pretty …
Here Comes the iPhone Virus
Koert van MensvoortBy analyzing billions of phone calls, researchers at Scandinavian telecom company Telenor , mapped how social connections between people – measured partly by how often they called …
Robosaurus eats Cars for Breakfast
Koert van MensvoortThe Robosaurus is the only airplane eating, fire breathing robot on the planet. Pity the thing is merely build for entertainment purposes. Perhaps this thing could finally solve …
Symphony of Science
Koert van MensvoortAs it is Sunday today, lets indulge in a scientific spiritual music video. Created by John Boswell . Thanks Finnigans Riverrun.
What does Technology want?
Koert van MensvoortTechnologist, environmentalist and nextnature thinker avant la lettre Kevin Kelly , muses on what technology means in our lives – from its impact at the personal level to its …
Blinky – Does what we want it to do
Sebastiaan WolzakIn the short movie Blinky, on a boy and his robot, director Ruari Robinson reflects on our daily dealings with technology and its risks. Alex is a child growing up in a family …
Cheiracanthium drives a Mazda
Allison GuyIn March, Mazda recalled 65,000 cars, not because of any structural faults in the vehicle, but because the engineers had inadvertently created the perfect habitat for a tiny …
Crows crack nuts... and traffic patterns
Allison Guyhttp://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=BGPGknpq3e0 Narrated by the incomparable David Attenborough, this footage goes to show that urban birds really are smarter . The cross-walking …
Next Nature lecture: Gardening Complexity
Koert van MensvoortNo, the peculiar image above was not created by an in vitro fertilized child from the combined DNA of Escher, Mondrian and Pollock, but rather by 21th century designer Remco van …
Protei, the Sail Bot that Cleans Up Oil
Allison GuyProtei is a sailing robot that's designed to clean up oil spills without human assistance. After sailing upwind, the bot drifts downwind, zigg-zagging across the surface to absorb …
Technology: The 7th Kingdom of Life
Koert van MensvoortKevin Kelly, Senior Maverick at Wired Magazine talks about the nature of technology and propose to define technology as the 7th Kingdom of Life.
Urban Birds
TimoIt's been known for a while that birds increase their singing volume to make themselves heard in the big city, but recent studies show that the city birds might even be evolving …
When Siri met Siri…
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkLike with pets and babies, we seem to like it when devices mimic our behaviour and social patterns. In the process of domesticating technology, we teach products to behave like …
Darwinian Selection of the Cowboy Hat
Allison GuyThe standard story of the cowboy hat goes something like this: In 1865, J.B. Stetson went out west during the California gold rush. He observed that bowlers, raccoon hats, and …
Painted by Robot
JackThe Senseless Drawing Robot is a painting robot that interprets nearby street and sidewalk traffic and turns it into sprays of pigment. The robot is turning chaos into order, and …
Robots Invade Stores to Steal Our Jobs
Allison GuyThere's a new threat to the world's unemployed. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a robot that helps to organize shop inventories, making that trip to the …
Should I be Afraid of...
Koert van MensvoortFor doom-mongers delight, the Berlin-based design studio Bold Futures made a handy interactive graph of the fatal disasters that might snuff us.
Where Cars are Born
Koert van MensvoortFrench photographer Stéphane Couturier provides us with an intimate peek inside the womb of a Toyota car factory north of Paris, France. The highly abstract photos of car parts, …
Artist Creates Portraits of Strangers Using DNA in Discarded Hair
Jiwon KimHeather Dewey-Hagborg just needs a strand of your hair to know what you look like.
Microchips Learn to Repair Themselves
Daniel BlokbergenTaking a cue from the human brain, a new microchip can rewire itself after damage.
Co-Evolving with Technology
Koert van MensvoortLooking at this nextnatural comic, our co-evolutionary relationship with technology might need some work.
Computer Algorithms Are Already Replacing Human Journalists
Allison GuyWill writing software eventually replace journalists?
EcoBot III: a Robot that Produces Energy Fueled by Organic Matter
Alessia AndreottiThere are robots that look like people, and then there are robots, like the Ecobot III, that look nothing like humans but have our same biological needs: they have to eat, digest …
Buckle up for Black Sky Thinking
Koert van MensvoortHow can we anticipate what happens after the technological singularity?
Interview: Jason Silva, Media Artist and Curator of Awe-Inspiring Ideas
Alessia AndreottiMedia artist, filmmaker and wonderjunkie Jason Silva talks about technological evolution and why humans are gods with anuses.
La Surconsommation
Koert van MensvoortFor those who "eat meat, but don't like in-vitro meat, because it is so unnatural" . Please spend 5 min to watch this video and change your thinking. You were watching the …
Meet The Tongue Parasite
Koert van MensvoortIf you're a fish, and want to keep your original tongue, better keep your mouth closed.
The Bottom-Up Bitcoin Revolution
Silvia CelibertiIn a recent feel-good article, WIRED wrote about a special group of homeless friends in Florida who, equipped with laptops, phones and free WiFi, manage to make ends meet making …
The Brain Is as Complex as All the World's Digital Data
Alessia AndreottiWith advances in genomics, imaging and other technology,scientists have to face the age of big data.
The Evolution of the Treble Clef
Allison GuyNongenetic evolution strikes again in the elaborate shape of the treble clef.
The Technium
Koert van MensvoortBuckle up for another cinematic espresso shot from our favorite performance philosopher Jason Silva.
The World Responds to Bitcoin
Rick Dutour GeerlingFrom small stores to the US government, what the world thinks of bitcoin.
Ambulance Drone
Alessia AndreottiThe ambulance drone: an autonomously navigating mini aeroplane that can quickly deliver a defibrillator.
Binary Code Able to Act Like DNA
Alessia AndreottiThere is a similarity between strings of binary and strands of organic DNA: they both carry actionable information encoded into reconfigurable symbols. Using nature’s biodiversity …
Dissected Motorcycle
Koert van MensvoortThe dissected motorcycle learns us that, like in old nature, much of the inner workings of next nature are occluded to us.
Drone Diver's License? Get it Online!
Alessia AndreottiThe online course to get your drone driver’s license for civil use.
How a Self-Driving Car Sees the World
Lotte BiesheuvelThe Google self-driving car has driven 700.000 miles by itself, and now it can drive through busy city streets.
Human Workers Get Increasingly Obsolete
Alessia AndreottiRobots are coming to replace humans at work, are they a real threat to the world’s unemployed?
Razorius Gilletus Flexball Subspecies
Koert van MensvoortThe latest subspecies in the Razorius line is the Razorius Gilletus Flexball. While Gillete proclaims they reinvented shaving, others argue Gillette's new razor is everything that's wrong with America.
Retro-Futuristic Drones
Alessia AndreottiIn 1925 futurists envisioned a sort of aerial civilization in the sky of New York City.
Retro Robot Band
Alessia AndreottiThe '50s robot band, Le Trio Fantastique, is exemplary of human distant longing for technology that integrates with our body and senses, to the point of taking our place!
Robot Cheetah Now Runs Free
Alessia AndreottiResearchers created a robo-feline able to run and bound while completely untethered.
Robots Are Not Supposed To Think
Koert van MensvoortEmpathy for Robots. May cause feelings of Anthropomorphobia.
Super Computer Chips
Robin BergmanIndium gallium arsenide couldbe the material of the new super computer chips of the future.
The Anthropocene Explosion
Koert van MensvoortWe have entered the Anthropocene epoch, in which humanity and its instrumentalities are the most potent and influential geological force.
What Will Life Be Like Inside A Computer?
John MesserlyMany scientists believe that we will soon be able to preserve our consciousness indefinitely. This could be done by copying and transferring these contents into a computer, or by piecemeal replacement with parts of the brain gradually replaced by hardware.
Why Robots Need Personalities
Alessia AndreottiSocial roboticist Heather Knight explains why we should give robots personalities.
Xmas Unwrapped
Koert van MensvoortAn expedition along the supply chain, visiting factory floors and productions lines of our fluffy red Santa hats, shiny baubles, tinsel and fake plastic trees. Merry Christmas!
AI is as Intelligent as a Four-Year-Old Kid
Erik van der VeenComputer can already beat us in many tasks. Complicated calculation, processing speed and chess, to name a few. However, generally speaking, you’re still likely to be more …
Analogue vs Digital: Drone Wars
NextNature.netThe use of armed drones has dramatically escalated in the war in Pakistan.
Analogue vs Digital: Self-Driving Cars
NextNature.netThe image on the left is a car, as we know them. It has a lot of digital technology in it already, but not nearly as much as the other one.
Artificial Intelligence Able to Create Music
Tijs DuelEmily Howell is an interactive interface able to compose and perform her own pieces of music.
Death Threat by a Twitter Bot
Louise HuyghebaertDutch developer Jeffrey van der Goot got questioned by the police after one of his Twitter Bot released a tweet containing a death threat.
DOUG: the First Robot Able to Draw
Margherita OlivoRobots can already read, talk and reason. Yet, they do not seem to have found limits to their artistic skills either. Meet DOUG_1, first the drawing robot.
Should Intelligent Sex Robots be Banned?
Daniel FragaThe Campaign Against Sex Robots, recently launched, is pushing towards banning the continuation of sex robots development.
Possibilities for Drones in Performing Arts
Alexandra BremersJapanese fashion brand Buyma created this video with a wink, wherein drones play a crucial role.
Local Deliveries: Robots or Drones?
Margherita OlivoStarship, a robot that will remodel our local deliveries system.
Meet the Hospital of the Future
Margherita OlivoWith its 656 beds, this hospital offers unconventional and leading computerized assistance for all sorts of patients.
Robot’s Best Friend
Alessia AndreottiFrom chef, to nurse, and also lover. Get ready, a new generation of robots is going to invade our lives!
Self-Driving Cars Practice Kids Recognition
Alexandra BremersThis year's Halloween, Google asked children from the neighborhood to come by in their spooky outfits and play around the self-driving cars.
Stewart Helps People to Trust Self-Driving Car
Erik van der VeenStewart is a tactile interface that mediates the communication between human and self-driving car.
Australians Wake Up One Hour Early Due to System Error in Their Mobile Phones
Koert van MensvoortThe glitch meant many woke an hour earlier than usual, leaving not just phone customers but whole households unhappy about rising early.
The Drone Circus
Alessia AndreottiThe first ever circus consisting entirely of drones is coming to Amsterdam. This fall the Amsterdam Arena will host a choreographed airshow using nothing but drones combined with …
The Hotel Run by Robots
Alessia AndreottiA futuristic Japanese hotel will be run by robots, designed to be extremely human-like.
Watch out for Bullied Robots
Alexandra BremersDystopian future scenarios filled with evil robots are everywhere. We are afraid of robots treating us badly, but what will happen if it'll be the other way around? According to …
We Are What We Like
Alessia AndreottiAccording to a study our PC, equipped with a list of things we "Like" on Facebook , knows us better than our friends.
AI Teenage Girl Hit by Depression
Ruben BaartAn AI was intended to improve human-like experiences in regards to the company’s customer service chatbots, but has fallen into a suicidal depression instead.
Roboat Ahoy: the First Autonomous Boats
Ruben BaartThe first self “driving” boat will be entering the canals of Amsterdam in 2017 with versatile ends.
Who Are These Trolls Invading China?
Margherita OlivoChina's government fabricates about 488 Million social media posts every year as a strategy to distract from critics to the regime.
Brexit: the Cultural Climate Warms Up
Daniel FragaOn the aftermath of such a historic day for Britain and the EU, it's easy to get swayed into the polarities of political discourse, particularly on social media and the Internet, where things heat up and move fast. The results of the referendum have just come out, and the Internet is already burning with tension. This is called "climate change" - just not the one you are used to hear about.
Cellphones Go Feral
Alejandro AlvarezAfter reports of Samsung phones causing serious damage, plane delays and even hospitalization, the company made a first recall. However, the new phones were still bursting into flames.
Dave Hakkens Wins the ECO Coin 2016
NextNature.netDave Hakkens wins the 2016 ECO coin Award for his incredible work on the Precious Plastic recycling machines.
The Death of the Traffic Light
Daniel FragaMIT researchers have developed a system of traffic control that will make traffic lights obsolete.
Difficulty in Voting for Trump or Hillary?Elect an Artificial Intelligence for President
Koert van MensvoortWould you vote for an artificial intelligence to govern our society?
Disney Lights Up the Sky with 300 Drones
Mathilde NakkenDisney’s latest attraction? 300 drones flying in formation.
Drone Racing: Sports for the 21st Century
Daniel FragaDrone racing: a new sport, where competitors drive drones at a speed of 70 mph. They control the drone by distance, using video goggles.
When FB Replaced Editors with Algorithm
Ruben BaartFacebook had just fired their curatorial team for the ‘Trending’ news section over an algorithm, resulting in false stories attacking a news anchor, a writer, and Mac Donald’s.
Lost in the Forest? The Drones Will Find You
Daniel FragaResearchers are teaching drones to recognize and follow forest trails.
Japan Is Ready to Pay Bills with Bitcoins
Alejandro AlvarezJapan is the first country to accept the bitcoins as payment method for basic services.
KaraokeBot Sings Christmas Carols
NextNature.netThe KaraokeBot is an AI system that generates and sings Christmas songs from the visual components of an uploaded image.
Computers Need Domestication
Alejandro AlvarezSoon we won’t program computers anymore, we’ll train them like dogs.
Mentally Disordered Robots
Nadine RoestenburgWhile robots are becoming more and more human, with all their sensors and information processing abilities, may it be likely that they too could develop mental illnesses?
Morality of an Autonomous Car
Monika KozubWhen an autonomous car has to make a decision, will self-interest or the public good predominate?
Next Nature and Next Generations
Elise MarcusOur workshop with kids from Lanterna Magica, an unconventional primary school in Amsterdam.
Pokemon Go and Virtual Property
Alejandro AlvarezWhat happens when someone places a virtual property on top of a physical one?
An Edible Drone for Humanitarian Aid
Ruben BaartNigel Gifford is developing a drone that will be relatively inexpensive, disposable and edible.
Racist Robots and Bloodthirsty Crowds
Daniel FragaIt took less than 24 hours for Twitter to corrupt an innocent AI bot and teach it morally repugnant things.
Robot Breaks Rubik's Cube World Record
Alessia AndreottiWatch this robot solving the Rubik's Cube in 1.047 second.
A Robot to Help The Refugee Crisis
Margherita OlivoIn the last months we've been witnessing a refugee crisis of huge proportions. More than a million people crossed the sea to flee violence in Africa and the Middle-East. Together …
Are Robots the Future of Tattoos?
Ruben BaartAn industrial robot just tattooed the first person ever in San Francisco.
Robots Taking Government Jobs
Ruben BaartMeet Amelia, the first robot to work along with human coworkers in a council job.
Robots Are Making Pizza Now
Ruben BaartA new wave of automation lies in pizza. Not only will robots deliver your pizzas in the future, they will even make them.
Self-Driving Cars Are Here to Stay
Megan Ray NicholsThe first time you switch on your self-driving car, punch in your coordinates and cruise off to the soulless thrum of an electric motor you’ve got to wonder: does this thing know what it’s doing?
Self-Driving Trucks Hit the Highways
Margherita OlivoA driverless convoy of trucks drove through Europe and safely arrived in Rotterdam yesterday.
The Movie Written by Artificial Intelligence
Margherita OlivoSunspring is a Sci-Fi short movie entrirely written by an artificial intelligence.
A System that Predicts Crime
Ingmar NieuweboerAn experiment tries to prevent crime by identifying aggressive behavior with new surveillance technology before actual violence is used.
Your Teaching Assistant Is a Robot
Margherita OlivoJill Watson has been performing as teaching assistant for 5 months, but she is not a real person, and students didn't notice.
Thanksgiving Getaway Gridlock
Alessia AndreottiIn suburbia, we hope to get away from it all. Unfortunately, everyone else has the same idea. Happy Thanksgiving to our American readers!
Painted by Drones
Ruben BaartGerman aerial-photography group Cooper Copter is exploring “vandalism 2.0” with drones that throw paint bombs.
Using Solar Powered Drones as Satellites
Ruben BaartThe experimental solar powered airplane Solar Impulse 2 succeeded its record-breaking journey over the Pacific. The Swiss team is now developing the next step of the project: solar drones.
Watch the First Movie Trailer Made by AI
Ruben BaartIBM's Watson succeeded in creating its first-ever movie trailer for the upcoming sci-fi thriller Morgan.
What's Flying There? Coloring Book
NextNature.netWhat’s Flying There? is a coloring book that opens up new perspectives for drones applications in the human habitat.
An AI Is Writing the Next "Game of Thrones"
Jack CaulfieldOne fan has become so impatient for the conclusion to "Game of Thrones", he's programmed an AI to write it for him. Move over, George R.R. Martin!
Dinner with Chef Watson
Ruben BaartChef Watson knows over 10.000 recipes. The highbrow robotic cook invited us over for dinner during the first Neo-Futurist Dinner at Mediamatic.
Drone Hits Crash Test Dummy for Your Safety
Ruben BaartResearchers at Virginia Tech are studying the risk of injury from a drone collision by hitting a crash test dummy in the head.
Flying Car Modular Transport System
Elle Zhan WeiAirbus and Italdesign unveil modular urban land and air transport system.
Next Nature Habitat VR Wins Sweden VR Award
NextNature.netOur Next Nature Habitat VR experience has won the Sweden International Virtual Reality Award in the category Best 360 Video!
Lego Bricks Come Alive
Ruben BaartLego announced the next generation of building bricks, bringing the creations to life.
Preventive Punishment for Robots
Elle Zhan WeiThe Punishment is an installation featuring a robotic arm that mimics a kid's handwriting perfectly, and repetitively writes "I must not hurt humans".
Pre-Order the Pyramid of Technology Toolkit
NextNature.netThe Pyramid of Technology toolkit is a workshop-in-a-box that helps you better understand technology and catalyze innovative processes.
Robot Librarians Instruct Young Generations
Ruben BaartThe Dutch province Gelderland-South uses two educational robots to increase kids' knowledge on such a technology.
Rights for Robots: EU Calls for Regulation
Jack CaulfieldA new report recommends that we decide the legal status of robots sooner rather than later. It even suggests that they could be given personhood and rights.
The Self-Flying Taxi Drone
Ruben BaartPassenger-carrying drones will hit the skies in Dubai this summer.
The Story of Money: Gold
NextNature.netThe story of money, an accessible roadmap from prehistory to digital age, from cows to credit, from gold mining to bitcoin mining. This episode: gold.
The Story of Money: Livestock
NextNature.netThe story of money: an accessible roadmap from prehistory to digital age - from cows to credit, from gold mining to bitcoin mining.
The Story of Money: Paper
NextNature.netThe story of money: an accessible roadmap from prehistory to digital age, from cows to credit, from gold mining to bitcoin mining. This episode: paper.
The Story of Money: Shells
NextNature.netThe story of money: an accessible roadmap from prehistory to digital age, from cows to credit, from gold mining to bitcoin mining. This episode: shells.
Robotic Tarzan Controls Crops
Julie ReindlA robot inspired by a sloth was developed in order to control crops growing in our fields.
Rescue Drone Will Save You in Open Water
Elle Zhan WeiDrone made to rescue in bad weather condition in open waters.
How AI could revolutionize the teaching profession
Jack CaulfieldIn various parts of the world, access to education is, or risks becoming, a huge crisis. UNESCO estimates that around 20 million new teachers are needed worldwide - and that's not …
How blockchain technology is changing the agriculture industry
Megan Ray NicholsBlockchain is useful for more than cryptocurrency. It’s revolutionizing industry after industry. Next, it may change the way we get our food. The agriculture industry is complex. …
The return of direct democracy: Introducing a digital agora to the crypto-world
Koen WeselIn Ancient Greece the people were part of a direct-democracy, this means that they would directly vote for policies and laws. Nowadays, it seems as though this horizontal approach …
How self-driving cars will change our sex lives
bryan clarkIt’s clear that driverless cars will revolutionize the way we get from Point A to Point B. Perhaps less obvious is how it’ll change our sex lives. According to a new study by the …
Here's all you need to know about the future of the ECO Coin (and how it came about)
NextNature.netToday is Earth Day! This means that we think about the relationship between man, nature and technology, as technology is becoming a nature of its own. Acknowledged in 192 …
This Twitterbot imagines the Fanta flavors that will fuel your summer
Kelly van GemertToday, artificial intelligence is doing all kinds of things: It can write an episode of game of thrones , it may revolutionize the teaching industry , and it's drawing new streets …
Give AI curiosity and it plays video games all day
Tristan GreeneIf you teach a robot to fish, it’ll probably catch fish. However, if you teach it to be curious, it’ll just watch TV and play video games all day. Researchers from Open AI …
HUBOT: Meet the Cybercrime Detective
NextNature.netAs a cybercrime detective, you search for suspicious patterns that indicate crime in the digital domain.
Interview Mark Wigley: "We are living in an ecology of antenna"
Ruben BaartWith the invention of the radio antenna in the late 19th century, we became a different species: Introducing the human insect. A species, able to communicate across oceans using …
Brain-assisted driving: Mind-control your car
Charlotte KuijpersBefore fully autonomous cars take over our streets, we may experience a transition phase: Fasten your seatbelts, as Nissan introduced a so-called Brain to Vehicle (B2V) system to …
Struck by lightning: Shipping emissions double frequency of lightning storms
Jack CaulfieldThey say lightning never strikes twice, but it appears to be striking a lot more often in some areas of ocean than others. New research published in Geophysical Research Letters …
The Story of Money: Bits
NextNature.netThe story of money: an accessible roadmap from prehistory to digital age, from cows to credit, from gold mining to bitcoin mining. The final episode: bits.
The Story of Money: Plastic
NextNature.netThe story of money: an accessible roadmap from prehistory to digital age, from cows to credit, from gold mining to bitcoin mining. This episode: plastic.
This startup uses body heat to mine crypto
Camille CharluetWhile many love to speculate about the sheer number of jobs that robots and artificial intelligence are going to replace in the near future, no one seems to be coming up with any …
China's state news agency has unveiled a virtual newsreader
bryan clarkDon’t adjust your TV set, that’s just a new computer-generated news anchor working out the bugs. Xinhua, a Chinese state-run media company, and Sogou, a Beijing-based search …
Explore your relationship with AI
Ruben BaartWhat makes us human? And why do we sometimes fear artificial intelligence? And what about technological singularity - the moment in time when artificial intelligence outperforms …
How AI is reshaping electronic music
Linda ValentaThe idea that AI can compose electronic music may sound a little off to people. It raises essential questions about creativity as a product exclusive to humans: can an AI be …
Next Nature is hiring an army of bots
Next Nature DevAs we showed with HUBOT , we can use new technologies and robotics to make our work more enjoyable, interesting and humane. Aside from our speculative jobs, a lot of robotic …
This exhibition looks at how robots are changing the world we live in
Ruben BaartDelve into the science and fiction of robots at V&A Dundee’s latest exhibition: Hello, Robot . Contemplate the existence of robots and how they have both shaped, and been …
The Next Nature guide to Transmediale 2019
Ruben BaartBerlin is kicking off its cultural season with the not-to-miss 23th installment of Transmediale . This year the digital art/culture festival focuses on how feelings are made into …
AI Song Contest: the show must go on!
Ruben BaartThe spread of the coronavirus has led to the cancellation or postponement of many events around the globe. Luckily there are still events we can look forward to, such as the AI …
It could be time to start thinking about a cybernetic Bill of Rights
Mike RyderLike it or loathe it, the robot revolution is now well underway and the futures described by writers such as Isaac Asimov , Frederik Pohl and Philip K. Dick are fast turning from …
Next Generation: Creating utopian and dystopian futures with Bas Jansen
Freya HutchingsThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Want to see your work here? Get in touch and …
What will COVID-19 teach us about life?
Koert van MensvoortWe live in turbulent times. Thanks to science and technology, we are able to perceive our environment down to the atomic level. We can read DNA, manipulate cells, cut and paste …
A new mythology of technology
Ruben BaartIn conversation with architect Julia Watson, a leading expert on Indigenous technologies and author of 'Lo-TEK, Design by Radical Indigenism'.
Erkundungen im Nächste Natur (D)
Die Natur verändert sich mit uns (English version: Exploring Next Nature ) by Koert van Mensvoort , published in Entry Paradise, Neue Welten des Designs, Gerhard Seltman, Werner …
Next Nature Introduction
Bruce SterlingThis project - the Next Nature Network - is about Nature's brand image. One might surmise that "Nature," being 100 percent all-natural, can't have any brand image. The facts …
Self–Repairing Architecture
Rachel ArmstrongAll buildings today have something in common: They are made using Victorian technologies. This involves blueprints, industrial manufacturing and construction using teams of …
Can Life Be a Technology?
Rachel ArmstrongIn 2009 the Initiative for Science, Society and Policy coined the phrase ‘living technology’ [1] to draw attention to a group of emerging technologies that are useful because they …
Lions Relocate to the Suburbs
Allison GuyAs cities push to the edges of the wilderness, wild animals are increasingly com
What Ant Colony Networks Can Tell Us About What’s Next for Digital Networks
Deborah GordonEver notice how ant colonies so successfully explore and exploit resources in the world … to find food at 4th of July picnics, for example? You may find it annoying. But as an …
An introduction to biomimicry
Janine BenyusThe first time I explained biomimicry to a stranger was not in a talk or a workshop but in a big-box bookstore just after Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature had come out. I …
Maurizio Montalti talks about the cycle of life
Meike SchipperAs modern humans, we are out of balance with our natural environment. With use of technology, we try to prolong our human lifespan and create materials that live longer than we …
Max Liboiron: pollution is colonialism
Ruben BaartWe now live in a world where plastics are becoming a part of our marine ecosystems. As a result, we strive hard to clean the plastics from our oceans. Dr. Max Liboiron ( Michif …
Notes on the plastisphere
Shahar LivneEvery piece of plastic that’s ever made, still exists. It results in a floating garbage dump in the ocean, full of life. While this (geo)design was never intentional, humans …
The GeneSprout Initiative: cultivating new plant breeding techniques
Ruben BaartSome 10,000 years ago humans began to domesticate plants and animals. The birth of agriculture, one of the earliest technologies available.
Real Nature is not Green
Koert van MensvoortAt the edge of the woods along the motorway near the Dutch town of Bloemendaal, there stands a mobile telephone mast disguised as a pine tree. This mast is not nature: at best, it …
Save our Next Nature! Buy the book
A critical and visual take on culturally emerged Nature. Full of statements from designers and thinkers from around the globe. Wild systems, Genetic Surprises, Calm Technology, …
Next Nature Interview
For the Venezuelan Magazine Platanoverde , Gabriela Valdivieso y Lope Gutiarrez-Ruiz interviewed artist/scientist Koert van Mensvoort and discussed some of the idea's behind Next …
Killer Robots
Koert van MensvoortRule #1: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Remember Isaac Asimov's classic three laws of robotics ? Surely thats …
BioStream
Arnoud van den HeuvelA renewable energy technology company in Australia designed this power generation system inspired by the shape of the tailfins of sharks, tuna and mackerel. The currents on the …
The Playboy Interview
In 1961, the name of Marshall McLuhan was unknown to everyone but his English students at the University of Toronto – and a coterie of academic admirers who followed his abstruse …
The World Without Technology
Kevin KellyI remember the smoke the most. That pungent smell permeating the camps of tribal people. Everything they touch is infused with the lingering perfume of smoke – their food, …
Moral Shortcomings in the Technology Debate
Rinie van EstDigital and genetic techniques increasingly influence life. Our belief in progress through technology stands in the way of a moral debate on this development. By Rinie van Est We …
Interview: Liam Young on Speculative Architecture and Engineering the Future
NextNature.netInterview with Liam Young on his work in speculative architecture, the future, and our role in nature as humans.
The Animal Sweater
KarlThe pattern on the Animal Sweater suggests a new way to experience commercial imagery. The Animal sweater, designed by Karl Grandin, was first shown at The Biggest Visual Power …
Disaster Edens: The Anti-Tourist Attraction
Allison GuyImagine your cruise to the Galapagos came with a ghoulish warning: "Your hair will fall out, your skin will blister, you'll probably get cancer and your children's children might …
YouTube preserves unmediated Nature
Allison GuyOn Youtube, there's a whole sub-genera of safari videos that show, in gruesome detail, what exactly it means to live and die in Old Nature. The above film is a particularly …
CAMOVER: Destroy All CCTV Cameras!
Silvia CelibertiEarn points in an online game by destroying real-life CCTVs.
From Eco-Apartheid to Earth Democracy
Vandana ShivaDo humans exist merely to make money and use resources? Vandana Shiva believes humans have a higher purpose.
Professions Of The Future
Francesca BarchiesiAs technology evolves, what today seems like science fiction may be the job market of tomorrow: 11 professions of the future.
Anthropo-scene #8: Anthropocene Rabbit
ChristianWith cities covering growing area of land, we humans and our spaces build the new wilderness for animals and plants.
Growing Drones From Chemicals
Ruben BaartResearchers are experimenting with a new technology that would be able to grow drones from chemical compounds.
ECO Coin Award Interviews: Shubhendu Sharma
Jack CaulfieldWe asked Shubhendu Sharm, our first ECO coin award nominee about his method, business and hopes for the future.
On the origin of the e-bike
Huub EhlhardtThe oldest known serious candidate forerunner for the bicycle is the ‘running machine’ built by the German Baron Karl von Drais. His two-wheeled machine became known as the …
Beyond biomimicry: a new urgency
William MyersDesigners face an unprecedented urgency to alter their methods and reprioritize their goals to address the accelerating degradation of the environment. This new …
4 visions about the future of public transportation
Marcus EnochThe way people get around is starting to change, and as a professor of transport strategy I do rather wonder if the modes of transport we use today will still be around by the …
Microbiocene: the microbiological archeology of the future
Linda ValentaIn configuring our next nature, artists and scientists explore new languages that move beyond the Anthropocene - the era of human beings. These semantics would bridge the gap …
Talking non-human nonsense with Nonhuman Nonsense
Ruben BaartNonhuman Nonsense is a research-driven design and art studio existing somewhere between utopia and dystopia. They wonder upon our relationship with the non-human, embracing …
Next Nature is ancient
Ruben BaartUli Westphal's Seed Series is an ongoing attempt to document the seeds of all edible plants, one seed at a time.
Faustian Bargains and Pineapple Shampoo
Since the early days of the net, the electronic pastoral has lent itself to all sorts of dubious agendas pushed by science, the military and even libertarian tendencies. In the …
Lecture in San Diego
Lecture on Next Nature this Wednesday at the UCSD Center for Research in Computing and the Arts in San Diego. Expect wild trees, wild beaches, and wild systems.
Observing Next Nature
Koert van MensvoortYou can watch it grow in front of your eyes. Via Core.form-ula .
ECO Currency – A Proposal to Balance Economical and Environmental Value
Koert van MensvoortImagine we would have an alternative monetary currency for environmental value. Would the rain forest still be destroyed if there existed an ECO–currency to express its value and …
Next Nature Movie #9 – The Terminal
Koert van MensvoortViktor Navorski is an Eastern European traveler – portrayed by Tom Hanks, who in the movie ‘Cast Away’ already played a man stranded on an uninhabited island – that finds himself …
Who Watches the Watchers?
Allison GuyIn The Watchers , the creative geniuses at Studio Smack picture a world where surveillance systems don't just watch us - they actively judge. Are you a green-coded Conformist or …
Sand Engine Reinforces Dutch Coastline
Koert van MensvoortNow here is an hands-on example of ‘guided growth‘ as a way to steer complex systems.
The Ecological Human
Rachel ArmstrongThe nature of humanity in the twenty-first century is, according to sociologist Steve Fuller, a ‘bipolar disorder’ beset with dualisms of identification such as divine/animal, …
The NBIC Convergence: When Machines and Matter ‘Have Sex’
Rachel ArmstrongThe Singularity , as popularized by Ray Kurtzweil, refers to a near term, theoretical time when machine intelligence greatly surpasses our own. At this point we will experience a …
Colorado Town votes on License to Hunt Drones
Koert van MensvoortDrones are the mosquitoes of the 21st century. A small town in Colorado will be voting on an ordinance for drone hunting licenses for shooting down the wild robotics.
The Prefuture of Synthetic Biology
Alexandra Daisy GinsbergAlexandra Daisy Ginsberg discusses the promises and realities of synthetic biology.
DIY Wire Networks In India
Robin BergmanIndian fragile DIY electronic infrastructure gives an insight into our complex electronic wire systems.
Interview: Bruce Sterling on the Convergence of Humans and Machines
NextNature.netWe had the honor of hosting Bruce Sterling in our Next Nature Network headquarters to talk to him about the concept of the convergence of humans and machines.
Solar Eclipse May Impact Power Supply Due to Increased Use of Solar Panels
Koert van MensvoortSolar eclipse may impact power supply due to increased use of solar panels
The Enlightenment Is Dead, Long Live the Entanglement
Danny HillisWe humans are changing. We have become so intertwined with what we have created that we are no longer separate from it. We have outgrown the distinction between the natural and the artificial. We are what we make.
How We Domesticated Food
Margherita OlivoWe tend to believe that the fruit and the vegetables we eat today are "natural" and the same as they always were. It turns out that in the past this familiar food didn't look like this at all.
‘Optimism is our duty’: in conversation with Koert van Mensvoort
Ruben BaartWe live in a world in which we control the biology of a tomato at such precision, you could think of it as a product of technology, instead of a product of nature. Think about it, …
Next Generation: Building aquatecture with Shaakira Jassat
Ruben BaartThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
Humans could recolonize Earth after mass extinctions with ectogenesis
Matthew EdwardsLately it seems that every movie, book and video game we see is about future apocalypses. Science articles are also painting a grim future for Earth and its inhabitants. If it’s …
Merging AI with human brain cells
Kelly van GemertA team of researchers are currently investigating the fusion of human brain cells with artificial intelligence. Creepy or innovative?
Nurturing architecture
Ruben BaartThe way we currently build is not sustainable. We will have to develop a sustainable living environment that matches our human needs, intuitions and potential.
Generative graffiti
Arnoud van den HeuvelHere 's a work by Theodore Watson (Amsterdam) on the face of the Maritime Hotel (New York) The particles are attracted to one another but will repel away from the non-lit windows. …
Elephant sends sms messages to rangers
Niko VegtIn the Kenyan wildlife conservancy Ol Pejeta elephants are tagged with a GPS-triggered text messaging device. Before the elephants start raiding the nearby villagers' harvest they …
Old nature compared
Arnoud van den HeuvelThe comparison graphics are a bit dull after a while, but I think this video illustrates how people deal with the forces of Next Nature; If we want to understand why managers, …
Smart Forests - EWAN
Arnoud van den HeuvelAt Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Christopher Love and colleagues are working to find out whether energy from trees can be used to prevent forest fires. A sensor system …
Lost on the Freeway?
Koert van MensvoortAn advertisement campaign for MIO GPS systems. Via Scene 360 . Related: Observing Next Nature , Waves of Asphalt , Magic Highway USA , Interchange , Exploding City .
Climate Craze in Russia
Koert van MensvoortClimate change is often thought to have its winners and losers, with Canada, Nordic countries and Russia being portrayed as among the lucky few chilly nations where moderate …
HP Computers are Racist
Koert van MensvoortThese two co-workers found out the face tracking feature of the utterly advanced HP webcam will not recognize or track black faces. Hewlett Packard says it's because the program …
Nanoparticles in Sunscreen Damage Microbes
Koert van MensvoortNanotechnology has been hailed for its benefits because of the potential ability to create drugs that could cure cancer and radiation poisoning, make miniature pollutant filters …
Inventing an Extinct Horse
Allison GuyAlong with the Heck cattle and Scottish Highlanders , another reconstructed species roams the Dutch dunes . The sturdy Konik horse , also known as the Polish primitive, is the …
Monsanto's Technorhetoric Kills Corn
Allison GuyMega-agro-biotech corporation Monsanto recently denied that insects have developed resistance to their patented Bt corn . Injected with a bacterial gene toxic to corn rootworms, …
Next Nature Services
Bas HaringIntentionality separates culture from nature. A dog is intentional, a fox is not; a park is intentional, a forest is not. Since trash, ruined buildings, and automated computer …
The Search for the "Real" Thanksgiving
Allison GuyThanksgiving is fake-for-real. While it's true that there was a minor harvest feast in 1621, held by English immigrants and Wampanoag Indians, the event was never celebrated …
The Technological Sublime
Jos de MulThe sublime is an aesthetic concept of 'the exalted,' of beauty that is grand and dangerous. Through 17th and 18th century European intellectual tradition, the sublime became …
Typing Out Evolution
Allison GuyFrom the exhibit "What Machines Dream Of" in Berlin comes Life Writer , a work by Christa Sommerer and Laurent Mignonneau. As the participant types, letters are projected on a …
Hidden Cities Emerge from the Amazon
Allison GuyFamed for its jaguars, orchids, and horrifying parasites, the Amazon is just as famous for what it lacks: human presence. For many years, the prevailing wisdom has been that …
Nanotech Generates the Blackest Black
As the NANO Supermarket opens discussions on the ethics, purpose and usability of nanotechnology, Frederik De Wilde is researching its artistic possibilities. De Wilde is a guest …
Nature is Dead, Long live Nature
Koert van MensvoortLike we did to old nature before, we must now cultivate our technological environment.
Rayfish CEO Responds to Break-In by Animal Rights Activists
Koert van MensvoortRayfish CEO Raymond Ong recorded a video response in which he analyzes the controversy around his genetically engineered stingray leather sneaker. Highly recommended for nextnature connoisseurs.
The Action Plant Runs Away from Your Touch
Allison GuyPlants have it tough. They're tasty, silent, and stuck to the spot. With Jurema Action Plant, artist Ivan Henriques has given plants the mobility they deserve . Henriques' pieces …
Why It's Time to Calm Down about "Invasive" GM GloFish
Allison GuyIs the neon green tetra GloFish soon to be the florescent, transgenic terror of America's waterways? The internet hype machine has repeated ad infinitum the Washington Post's …
33% of All Seafood in the United States Is Fraudulently Labeled
Allison GuyA new study from the marine conservation group Oceana reveals that a full one-third of seafood across the US is mislabeled. Not surprisingly, the most expensive fish is also the …
Get Ready for the Arctic to Bloom
Allison GuyIn the warming Arctic, an area the size of the US is now covered in vegetation.
With "Stealth Wear", Hide from Unmanned Drones in Style
Daniel van PaesschenTired your ugly duds? Sick of surveillance drones? Does Adam Harvey have the clothing for you!
Yes, Naturally
Ine GeversThe introductory essay from the Yes, Naturally book - available in our store!
Need to Unplug? There is an App for that
Koert van MensvoortAt times it seems we serve our technology as much as it serves us. The OFFTIME App wants to save us from our own devices.
Next Nature and the Curse of Oil
Tere VadénThe next step is to embrace and celebrate how cultural artifacts are escaping control, becoming autonomous, and forming the “next nature”.
Reinventing Nature with Synthetic Biology
Alessia AndreottiBioengineer Drew Endy shares his idea of biology as a precision manufacturer that could potentially transform civilization as we know it.
Shark Deterrent Wetsuits
Lotte BiesheuvelA new way to project yourself against sharks while enjoying your favorite watersport!
What Bits Want
Kevin KellyDigital bits have lives. They work for us, but we totally ignore them. What do bits really want? Here are the life stories of four different bits.
If a Robot Buys XTC on the Dark Web, Who is Responsible?
Alexandra BremersThe Random Darknet Shopper, with bitcoin to burn, has purchased counterfeit jeans, master keys, dodgy cigs and even a bag of ecstasy tablets. Who is legally liable?
Should We Fear Thinking Machines?
Maria RamosIt seems thinking machines could put the human race in danger. How realistic these fears are?
Teasing the Internet of Things
Yunus Emre DuyarWhen there is such abundance of areas where IoT could be applied, several ridiculous, unnecessary products are inevitable.
Foster’s Prototype for a Droneport
Margherita OlivoNorman Foster's project for a Droneport that will give a valid, affordable alternative to reach and bring help to remote areas.
Vacation in the Era of Marine Pollution
Megan Ray NicholsWhile we can’t just leave the coast permanently without upsetting the delicate balance of this new environment we created, we can take better care of it to ensure that it is around for years to come.
Visualize the Hidden World of Digital Networks
Nadine RoestenburgHave you ever wondered what the infosphere looks like? Dutch designer Richard Vijgen’s app Architecture of Radio is a field guide to the hidden world of digital networks.
Artificial Light Threatens Pollination
Daniel FragaA recent study demonstrated how artificial light is a serious threat to plant pollination. It puts plant reproduction in danger, as well as the whole ecosystem.
DNA Hacking: Catch a Computer Virus
Jack CaulfieldWe know how it feels to catch a cold; how might it feel to catch malware?
Floating Green Power
Megan Ray NicholsOffshore renewable energy resources, such as floating solar arrays, have begun to pop up around the world.
Kangaroos Confuse Self-Driving Cars
Julie ReindlVolvo's driverless car system has trouble recognizing kangaroos because it gets confused by the hopping of the marsupial.
Your First AI Friend for Life
Elle Zhan WeiReplika is your friend for life. He is 100% AI chatbot that you “raise” by chatting with it.
Jobs for Facilitators - Robots at Work #3
Mathilde NakkenThis is post number three of our serie 'Robots at Work'. In this episode we present you five jobs for facilitators, the ones who love to work with technology.
The information age is starting to transform fishing worldwide
Ioana TomiciPeople in the world’s developed nations live in a post-industrial era, working mainly in service or knowledge industries. Manufacturers increasingly rely on sensors, robots, …
Next Generation: Unlearning botanical narratives with Nina Škerjanc
Ruben BaartThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
Why looking at beaver dams might save the world
Méline MaquartEddie Corwin studies beaver dams and ponds from satellite images in order to restore watercourses and wetlands, and establish nature reserves.
Next Nature's must reads
Ruben BaartTen books that continue to inspire the next nature philosophy—gathered for you to read this summer.
Seeking Symbiosis
Ruben BaartVisual artist Heleen Blanken explores the complex relationship between people, nature and technology.
Interruptions
Rolf CoppensEvery ecology needs balance. So that's also true for the ecology of the office. The office is a ecology that is highly regulated: temperature, light, humidity, distance to other …
All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace
Koert van Mensvoortby Richard Brautigan (1968) I like to think (and the sooner the better!) of a cybernetic meadow where mammels and computers live together in mutually programming harmony like pure …
Anybody else hear that ringing?
Koert van MensvoortAn actress in Atlanta, has tried to answer her phone to the thrrrrup, thrrrrup, thrrrrup of a truck bouncing down a pothole-pocked street. Others say they thought they heard …
Designing for Next Nature (workshop report)
Koert van MensvoortThe extent to which new technologies are intervening with everyday life can hardly be underestimated. Virtual realities, nano- and biotechnology are increasingly providing new …
Digital Stock Market Garden
KarlThe Ticker Garden is a stand-alone data visualization application that monitors a stock portfolio. Different flowers represent the real-time performance of selected stocks via the …
Evolving Logo
Koert van MensvoortGenerative graphics and organic information design are making their way into the world of the applied arts. For the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, …
Green Electricity
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkElectricity itself is a natural phenomena, but as regular AC/DC currency it becomes a commoddity. But Green Electricity is a strange thing. You pay more money for your electricity …
Inner life of a cell
Rolf CoppensYou know.. cells have feelings too... and friends.. Check the video here
N is for Nature
NextNature.netThere are people who think what makes a good wine comes from nature - factors like rain and soil and temperature. Then there are those who think it's a matter of second nature - …
Online RPG Funeral Gets Ambushed
Koert van MensvoortSince its launch in November 2004, World of Warcraft (Wow) has become the most widely played massively multiplayer online (MMO) game in the world. When a popular WoW player died …
Plant Sensors
Koert van MensvoortOne day you will step into the garden to look at the flowers - and the flowers will look back at you. Rich Fletcher, Nikolai Slavov, and Hiroshi Ishii from MIT Tangible Media …
RFID Chips: Is your cat infected with a Computer Virus?
Koert van MensvoortA group of computer researchers from Amsterdam have demonstrated that it is possible to insert a software virus into radio frequency identification tags, part of a microchip-based …
Robotic Action Painter
Rolf CoppensRAP is a new generation of painting robots designed for Museum or long exhibition displays. It is completely autonomous and need very little assistance and maintenance. RAP …
Sequoiaview - harddisk visualisation
Koert van MensvoortDid you ever wonder where all that hard drive space went too? Sequoiaview generates organic-like views of the files and folders on your hard drives using cushion treemaps. …
What's Epic?
Arnoud van den HeuvelEpic is a fictional prospect (from 2004) on the future culture of media and internet-corporations. The human addiction to news and information must - according to this video - …
Backpacker Airplane
Koert van MensvoortNo, I am not sure if and how this distressed airplane wearing its passengers luggage on its back relates to our research topic. Anyhow, it is the peculiar image of the week. The …
Catcam
Arnoud van den HeuvelJ. Perthold (Germany) has a cat called Mr. Lee; a cat with a cam! Through smart circuit-engineering, the VistaQuest Digital Keychain takes pictures every minute for 48 hours on …
Edible RFID tags
Dr NaturalInventors keep coming up with new ways to exploit RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags. Now Kodak wants to use them to probe a person's digestive system. RFID tags are tiny …
Packet garden
Dr NaturalPacket Garden is an experimental artwork that seeks to provide an alternative and accessible approach to visualizing daily internet use. Plants are also grown for each protocol …
Periodic table of the internet
Koert van MensvoortA periodic table of the most popular websites on the internet . websites are categorized according to search engines, internet tools, site ranking, aggregators, web comics, …
RedesignMe
Koert van MensvoortWe are all born in a world that has been designed already. Cars, dishwashers, dildo's, remote controls, ATM machines. Although these products are supposed to make life better, …
Spiders on Drugs
Dr NaturalIn the 1960s, Dr. Peter Witt gave drugs to spiders and observed their effects on web building. Meet the cocaine, LSD, and the crack spider. Corny Alert!
RFID implant opens doors
Dr NaturalAmal has two RFID implants, one in each hand. His left hand contains a 3mm by 13mm EM4102 glass RFID tag that was implanted by a cosmetic surgeon. His right hand contains a 2mm by …
Worm-storm weather report
Koert van MensvoortA short video showing a live o utbreak of malware named Small.DAM. Are we looking at the weather report of the future here?
10 years Google
Mieke GerritzenThe good people of NextNature.net congratulate Google.com with its tenth anniversary. See also: Google 2084 , Google DNA , Google manhole , Googling in physical space , Google …
A Garden Raised by Television
Arnoud van den HeuvelThis installation is called Feed and raises ferns that can survive under conditions of extreme lighting. The television screens provide light to the plants, which grow …
Economy is ecology
Koert van MensvoortNature is itself a free market system. A rain forest is an unplanned economy, as is a coral reef. The difference between an economy that sorts the information and energy in …
Grasscutter Architects
Arnoud van den HeuvelTen tons of cement were pourred into this grasscutters ant colony, revealing a subterranean structure of 8 meters / 26 feet deep. 'Ant-City' was built including circulating …
Hortus Conclusus
Arnoud van den HeuvelThis weeks peculiar image is a work by Zeger Reyers. In 2001 he vaccinated some everyday objects - found in the basement of Rotterdam Art Centre Witte de With - with oyster …
Hurricane$ approaching
Koert van MensvoortEconomy is ecology . At least, according to the biomimicmarketeers of the US Wachovia Bank who created this weather report like newspaper advertisement. Nowadays most people worry …
Hurricane Control Causes a Storm of Lawsuits
Koert van MensvoortControlling hurricanes could save lots of lives and dollars. According to a study published in by climate physicist Daniel Rosenfeld , adding dust to Hurricane Katrina's base …
It is Nature... but not as we know it
Dr NaturalNo, this isn't the newest picture of some star system or nebula taken by Hubble telescope in deep space. This is a map of the internet. It might not be of much use since it is …
Letting Go
Koert van MensvoortInspired by the death of his grandfather, LEGO builder Shannon Ocean visualizes the chaos that lies beyond death in this thoughtful and somewhat disturbing piece called " Letting …
Meet the Worms, Viruses and Trojans
Koert van MensvoortNow there is an interesting biomimicmarketing technique we had not seen before. For their new marketing campaign internet security company Messagelabs worked with digital artist …
Nobuo Takahashi's Exploding City (video)
Koert van MensvoortIn 2008, for the first time in history, more than half of the world's population will be living in towns and cities . By 2030 this number will swell to almost 5 billion, with …
Prof. Dr. Jos de Mul's - Poetry of Genetics
Koert van MensvoortIn the weeks towards the Biggest Visual Power Show 2008 we post a few video's of earlier power show presentations. Philosopher Prof. Dr. Jos de Mul – author of countless articles …
RepRap - a self-reproducing machine
GuustThe RepRap is a selfreproducing 3D printer. The 3D printer 'prints' his own components by melting tiny plastic particles together. Imagine what would happen if this 3D printer …
Saturn (Directors Cut)
Arnoud van den HeuvelThe struggle between the born and the made is being fought out in a wardrobe on Saturn. By: 1stavemachine.com | Related: Sixties Last
Small Talks
Arnoud van den HeuvelAn installment in the series of: " Things I have learned in my life so far ". sagmeister.com These dividing pages for Austrian magazine .copy spell out:"Starting / a / charity / …
The Internet's presidential attention
Koert van MensvoortNow that we've recognized the internet as a living entity , we can begin to wonder what the internet is thinking of. Would it be possible to communicate? Ask questions? Read its …
The Invisible Movie
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkIn the Netherlands, there is a raging debate about a movie nobody ever saw. It seems that images have become so powerful, we don't even need them anymore to scare the hell out of …
The mobile evolution
Arnoud van den HeuvelIn our NextNature event BVPS (May 2008), Kevin Kelly spoke of technology as the 7th kingdom of life : a form of evolution whithout the nasty side–effect of dying (Every object …
The Order Electrus
Koert van Mensvoort"Nature adapts, even to human actions that seem to destroy everything. The amazing power of evolution has given birth to a new species of insect. Their ideal habitats are old …
Untitled Sound Objects
Jan van der AsdonkPe Lang and Zimoun have created a range of sound objects, also referred to as the Untitled Sound Objects . These sound objects are mainly triggered by simple vibration motors, …
Zombie Spam – botnet resurrects from death
Koert van MensvoortComputerworld reports a big spam-spewing botnet, that was shut down a few weeks ago, has been resurrected and is again under the control of criminals. The "Srizbi" botnet returned …
A Future Love Story
By MARCEL VAN DER DRIFT. Ten years from now, a cell phone gently sinks to the bottom of the river. It's one of the latest models. The clever design, trendy colours and nifty …
Advanced Seed Bombs
Arnoud van den HeuvelDesigner Jin-wook Hwang from South Korea came up with the idea of replanting and reforesting arid areas using seed bombs . When airdropped, the bombs disassemble themselves, …
Behavioral Urbanism
Arnoud van den HeuvelIts title might be self-explanatory and it sure looks intriguing... however kokkugia fails to give a thorough description for this architectual piece. Classified as 'peculiar …
China limits use of 'virtual' currencies
Dr NaturalBy DAVID BARBOZA SHANGHAI — China made public on Tuesday regulations aimed at cracking down on the use of virtual currencies amid worries that a huge underground economy was …
Designing for NextNature @ TU Eindhoven
Koert van MensvoortStarting February 2009 the Industrial Design department of the Eindhoven University of Technology takes Next Nature as one of its educational themes. The Industrial Design …
Escape of the Prairiedogs
Arnoud van den Heuvel" It took just 10 minutes for a dozen prairie dogs to outwit the creators of the Maryland Zoo's new $500,000 habitat. Aircraft wire, poured concrete and slick plastic walls proved …
FDA holds up the delivery of an 'Apple'
Koert van MensvoortThe US Food and Drug Administration is holding up the delivery of an iMac because they seem to think it is an apple, not an Apple. I don’t want to believe that either UPS or the …
Flu Collector
Koert van MensvoortRather than trying to delay or avoid a flue infection, why not plan it? The INFLU flu collector mask helps you to get sick when you want to. The INFLU mask is outfitted with a …
Four environmental 'heresies'
Koert van MensvoortTED talk by Steward Brand – the man who helped usher in the environmental movement in the 1960s and '70s – has been rethinking his positions on cities, nuclear power, genetic …
Google Everything
Koert van MensvoortFilippo Minelli envisions Google total world domination in his very own stickery manner. See also: Google tracks flue via sick searchers , Google 2084 , Google DNA , Google …
Google 'Opt Out' parody
Koert van MensvoortThe Google Opt Out Feature Lets User protect their privacy by moving to a desolate village where the are guaranteed an environment free from Google products. Participants will …
Growth economy hits the ceiling?
Koert van MensvoortWe have lived for 200 years in a growth economy . That's more than a lifetime, so it is no surprise people tend to think of economy as infinitely growing. Herman Daly , who …
How do Bacteria Communicate?
Arnoud van den HeuvelSo here we are; bragging about our discoveries and great new ways of living... meanwhile we tend to forget that we are NOT the dominant species on the surface of the earth. …
Inbox Victory
Rolf CoppensHave you ever been in the situation where you spend days trying answer all of your email only to accomplish your goal and have no one to share in your victory? All you want is a …
Monokultur
Koert van MensvoortA peculiar photo series by Hubert Blanz . Related post: Lost on the Freeway? , Observing Next Nature , Waves of Asphalt , Interchange , Exploding City , Magic Highway USA .
Natural Fountain
Koert van MensvoortFountains are peculiar objects: We associate them with nature even though they are typically entirely artificial and man-made (unless you are living in Iceland of course). …
The Internet Mapping Project
Arnoud van den HeuvelKevin Kelly -- senior maverick at Wired -- asks people how they see the internet and if they can, visualize it. Here is how: "The internet is vast. Bigger than a city, bigger than …
The Trillion Node Network
Rolf Coppens"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers" , a remark made by Thomas J. Watson of IBM in 1943. But what if the number of computing devices connected to each other …
Who designed the banana?
Koert van MensvoortLooking at a banana from a design perspective, one immediately notices the fruit is highly ergonomic and sophisticated: Bananas fit perfectly in the human hand, they come with a …
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Koert van MensvoortThis translation of the essay ' Real Nature is not Green ' is a special treat from and for our fellow Next Nature explorers in China. We thank the people of the Microwave …
A Whole New Species of Television is Born
Koert van MensvoortSo you thought the Razorius Gilletus essay was farsighted? Interestingly enough, Samsung is advertising its latest TV-set as a whole new species . Despite the obvious …
Antenna roofgarden
Koert van MensvoortDon't ask me what the purpose is of having your roof crowded with antennas. Solar energy roof-gardens I could understand, but antenna roof-gardens just seem hopelessly old …
Beehive Europe
Koert van MensvoortPeculiar image of the week. Via Radarvirtuel , where you can see them fly in real time.
Augmented Reality Maps
Michael KluverSince a few years the internet in combination with mobile phone technology brought us something that we refer to as augmented reality : A digital projection that is placed over …
Constellation
Koert van MensvoortNo this is not some stellar system far away. What is it then? Lets make another picture, this time with the flashlight on... ...and we learn the small universe is comprised by LED …
Debugged: 'Graphic Design Bugs'
Michael KluverThe Eindhoven-based design team ' Edhv ' made an installation to turn creepy crawlers into genuine graphic designers. By letting crickets, woodlice, ants and many other insects …
Design Fiction – Medical Bill of the Future
Koert van MensvoortAccording to this fictitious future medical bill almost every part of the human body will be repairable in 2028. Gut bacteria replacement, Bone tissue growth for skull repair, …
Dog Modding in China
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkAs a child, I already saw some great tiger potential in my cat and some shark-ish attitude in the behaviour of my goldfish. Personally, I think that since we started domesticating …
Europe airspace reboot
Rolf CoppensAfter a ban on flying last weeks due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland, the European airspace was slowly rebooting to its old state of activity. This movie shows the movement of …
Media Sunrise
Koert van MensvoortOr is it a sunset? Not sure. Ubiquitous corporature either way. Image by Mieke Gerritzen .
Miniature Sensor Network for the Office
Koert van Mensvoort"Have you seen my stapler? No, but just look it up on Google home office maps ." CSIRO Researchers have developed miniature sensors that track lab equipment, coffee mugs and …
Monitoring your computer's activity like a frog pond
Koert van MensvoortMulti-touch designer and developer Richard Monson-Haefel considers sound as an important part of our user interfaces. As an application of " Calm Technology " which revolves …
Next Nature Movie #2: Being There
Koert van MensvoortThe main character in ‘Being There’ (1979) is a simple-minded gardener named Chance, played brilliantly by Peter Sellars, who has spent all his life as a servant in the Washington …
Next Nature Movie #3: Koyaanisqatsi
Koert van MensvoortKoyaanisqatsi (1982) is a film with no actors, no storyline, and no dialogue. The only things we see are landscapes, images of cities, and people going about their regular lives. …
Nomadic Plants
Koert van MensvoortNomadic Plants are a species assembled from a group of robotic-electronic-biological organisms living in symbiosis in order to survive in habitats affected by human activity. The …
Revisiting Jurassic Park
Billy SchonenbergWhen searching for Next Nature in the world around us, one does not necessarily have to look at the present. The science fiction novel Jurassic Park, written in 1990 by the …
Self Catching Fish
Koert van MensvoortResearchers at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Wood's Hole, Massachusetts, are testing a plan to train fish to catch themselves by using a sound broadcast to attract them into …
A Bug's Afterlife
Allison GuyWhen fruit flies die, they don't go to heaven, but they do get to go to outer space. At least that's the conceit of artist HsienYu Cheng's Collector: Afterlife , which zaps bugs …
Biomodd at work
Minke KampmanModding is the act of adapting hardware/software to have it do what you want it to do, which does not always correlate with what it is originally built to do. Biomodd (ding) is …
City Living Splits Up Blackbirds
Allison GuySome blackbirds have found city living so much fun (the theater scene! the restaurants!) that they have given up migrating south for the winter. Cities are usually warmer than the …
Did Nature Cease to Exist in the '60s?
Koert van MensvoortOur historical snippet of the moment is a Canadian television fragment from 1968 featuring a debate between Norman Mailer and Marshall McLuhan on the implications of media …
Exploring the Oceans of Plastic
Koert van MensvoortCaptain Charles Moore of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation first discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch – an endless floating waste of plastic trash. Now he's drawing …
Fly Paper Clock
Koert van MensvoortBionic horror by designers James Auger and Jimmy Loizeau , who have created a clock that traps insects on flypaper before depositing them into a vat of bacteria. The resulting …
Gamers Solve Enzyme Riddle
Natalie DixonIn a vivd example of the blur between culture and nature, players using an online game called Foldit have helped solve complex questions for researchers about enzyme models. The …
German Robots Destroy a Living Room
Allison GuyArtistic duo Robococo, aka Petra Gemeinboeck and Rob Saunders, have embedded a group of autonomous robots in the walls of a gallery. Wielding hammers and creepy electronic eyes, …
Michael Najjar – High Altitude
Koert van MensvoortThe rock formations in the High Altitude photo series don't exist physically, yet they are very present in our society of simulations . The photos visualize the development of the …
Let the Algorithms Roam Free
Bastiaan EkelerIn this TED talk, Kevin Slavin explains how computer algorithms are breaking free of their virtual habitats and changing the physical world to their liking. Through algorithms, …
Mapping the Utilisphere
Allison GuyEarth has had a geosphere, atmosphere and biosphere for a few billion years. Only within the last several thousand years has earth gained a global noosphere, the intangible …
SMS Skyscrapers
Koert van MensvoortI reckoned Amsterdam did not have any sky scrapers, but I guess I wasn't looking through the right lenses. This sms-traffic Amsterdam skyline – made on new years eve 2007 – was …
Sympathy for the Device
Robin PohlTweenbots are small robots that depend on the kindness of strangers. They are only able to move straight forward and do this constantly. Once they get stuck in a hole or at a …
Use and Abuse of Vegetational Concepts
Koert van MensvoortOur proposal to study the financial system as an ecosystem is sometimes criticized as 'abuse of vegetational concepts'. Interestingly enough BBC documentary maker Adam Curtis now …
The Institute for Digital Biology
Arnoud van den Heuvel" The Institute for Digital Biology researches next steps in the evolution of the internet, where websites and services develop into living creatures ." This scenario lives in the …
The Pigeon that Shat the Golden Soap
Allison GuyEver wished you could take a shower with pigeon poop? Artist Tuur van Balen proposes changing pigeons from flying rats to cleaning agents. A speculative, specially engineered …
The Soul is a Plastic Bag
Allison GuyIn the film Plastic Bag , the title character spends a lifetime (or more) on a quest for a creator not even aware of his existence. A stunning short by Ramin Bahrani, director of …
Trading Humans for Trading Algorithms
Stefan FinckenThe economic system and profit motive has been a driving force that steers and even dictates social change. Investors and stockbrokers have been a major influence to these social …
Using Pigeons as Protestors
Allison GuyArtist Jaroslav Kyša has invented a novel form of social protest . By scattering seed in front of targets in London, he can attract droves of pigeons that disrupt shoppers and …
Army Protected Organic Foods
Simone KochOver the last few decades, the public has been – and still is – creating awareness on the values of organically produced foods. For many foodies an important value of organic …
Bioinspired Robojelly Can Swim Forever
JenniferScientists have developed a biomimetic robot that will be able to swim forever, since its artificial muscles are powered by water. And since Robojelly lives underwater, it will …
Complete Computer Simulation of a Bacterium Holds Hope for Medicine
Allison GuyResearchers at Stanford and the J. Craig Venter Institute recently created the first complete computer model of an organism. The simulation models the genome and life processes …
Dan Barber on the Ultimate Fish Farm
Koert van MensvoortChef Dan Barber discusses a dilemma facing many chefs today: how to keep fish on the menu? With impeccable research and deadpan humor, he chronicles the discovery of a unique …
Free Range Robot Filters Out the Ocean's Plastic
Allison GuyWhale sharks are great at filtering; plastic needs to be filtered. For now, however, whale sharks only have an appetite for plankton. Industrial designer Elie Ahovi has jumped …
Gangnam Autonomy
Arnoud van den Heuvel"A robot is a mechanical apparatus designed to do the work of a man. Its components are usually electro-mechanical and are guided by a computer program or electronic circuitry. By …
Genetic Screening for Christmas Trees
Allison GuyIf you've turned to plastic Christmas trees because the real ones leave piles of needles behind, science is working to bring live conifers back into your holidays. A $1.3 million …
Get into Buckminster Fuller
Koert van Mensvoort58:10 minute interview with polymath & nextnature thinker avant la lettre Buckminister Fuller.
IKEA Lamp Catches Elephantiasis Virus
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkHave you heard of Elephantiasis? It is a disease caused by microscopic parasitic worms that cause a thickening of the skin and underlying tissues. The disease typically occurs in …
Internet Traffic is now 51% Non-Human
Koert van MensvoortSo you thought the Internet was made by and for people? Think again. A study by Incapsula , a provider of cloud-based security for web sites (mind you where this data comes from), …
Let the Robotic Farmers feed the World
Koert van MensvoortThe future of farming is not to be found in further mass-industrialization nor in the return to traditional farming with man and horse power, but rather in swarms of smart, cheap robotic farmers that patiently seed, tend and harvest fields one plant at a time without the need for damaging pesticides.
Mul & De Mul – God's Browser
Koert van MensvoortPhilosopher and professor Jos de Mu l and media artist Geert Mul set out to visualize the Gods Browser in a unique art-science collaboration. The result is a conceptual poem of …
Surviving Progress
Koert van MensvoortMontreal filmmakers Mathieu Roy and Harold Crooks’ documentary feature, Surviving Progress presents the story of human advancement and reveals the risk of running the 21st …
"That Was Then. This is Now"
Alexandra Daisy GinsbergThe wunderkammer – the traditional repository of natural history curiosities and cultural relics – has been updated by the Center for PostNatural History in Pittsburgh, which …
We want you to be Radically Open
Koert van MensvoortCan you do it? Do finish your lunch before clicking the link – or you might vaporise. The video was made by Jason Silva for the ongoing TEDGlobal 2012 which has Radical Openness …
A Robot to Make Rats Depressed
Marco van BeersThe robot in the picture above chases and attacks the living rat rights besides it. The W-3, as the robot is named, is designed to make rats seriously depressed. In fact, this …
Animals Mistaken For Spies
NextNature.netEgyptian authorities detained a stork last week on suspicion of espionage.
Gathering Electricity from the Atmosphere
Stephen Perry"Atmospheric energy" has the power to revolutionize the production of electricity.
Can This Virtual World Save the Real One?
Alessia AndreottiA Dutch artist designs a Utopian eco-socialist online society.
Chinese Whisper Challenge Pits Man Against Machine
Jort BandEver played "telephone" or "chinese whispers" as a kid? Now, you can pit your speech recognition skills against a computer.
Computer Teaches Itself to Play Games
Geert van den BoogaartAn algorithm observes human players to learn how to beat Super Mario Bros.
Delivery Drones Are Coming
Koert van MensvoortAmazon announces they want to use drones to deliver your order within a half hour at any location you choose.
Drones Swarm While We Sleep
Koert van MensvoortMesmerizing drone ballet from Kmel Robotics and Lexus.
Free Electricity from the Technosphere
Teije OudshoornScientists learn how to harvest electricity from radio waves.
Interview: Floris Kaayk, the Visionary Creative Mind Behind Human Birdwings
Alessia AndreottiFloris Kayak discusses online hoaxes and the future of technology.
Nature through the Windshield
Brendan CormierVolume magazine interviews Next Nature founder Koert van Mensvoort.
Next Nature TEDx Talk in Budapest
NextNature.netIndulge in the Next Nature stump speech at TEDx from Dr. Van Mensvoort
Offshore Wind Farms Generate Their Own Microclimates
Patty ChanAs we strive to milk all available energy from nature, we not only harvest but alter our surroundings in the process. By mixing the warm sea air with cooler air above, offshore …
Painting with Toxic Runoff
Allison GuyA professor and an artist have invented a method to manufacture paint from acid mine runoff.
'Victimless Shelter' Grown from Pig Cells
Allison GuyWhile Next Nature was busy dreaming up new in vitro meat (IVM) foods, the mad scientists of Terreform ONE in New York went ahead and designed an entire dwelling made of IVM pig cells.
World's Worst Job? Being a Human Robot at Amazon's Fulfillment Center
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkWorkers are completely controlled by algorithms in Amazon's fulfillment center
Anti-Drone Tent
Koert van MensvoortAnti Drone Tent is a small construction of emergency blankets that blocks infrared sensing, making it invisible to drones.
Drone Crash
Lotte BiesheuvelDuring a triathlon ace a drone operated by a local photographer hit one of the athletes.
Exploring the City Soundscape
Alessia AndreottiBuq are electronic life forms that shift the experience of the street scape from the primarily visual to a more auditory experience.
Faraday Tent
Koert van MensvoortWhile in old nature people build shelters to protect themselves from natural forces like wind and rain, today one has to protect oneself from nextnatural forces.
Graffiti Drones
Robin BergmanLast month graffiti artist Katsu presented his graffiti drone called the ‘’spray copter’’.
High Frequency Trading Visualized
Koert van MensvoortOur peculiar image of the week is titled "High Frequency Captured on the Surface of Augmented Objects" by Ryota Matsumoto , Mixed Media 140718 110cmx85cm.
Learning Circuits While Playing With Clay
Robin BergmanKids learn the basics of electric circuits while playing with clay.
Lonely Sculpture Your Next Tinder Match?
Koert van MensvoortTinder users beware: somewhere out there a mechanical finger is surfing the popular dating smartphone app. This could be your next match.
Monster Machine Swallows Tree in 15 Sec
Koert van Mensvoort15 seconds, that is the time it takes the mulcher monster to consume a 9 meter-tall, mature spruce – starting at the top, landing at the bottom.
Razorius Gilletus Gold Plastic
Koert van MensvoortLike the exorbitant feathers of the peacock, which only function is to aesthetically stand out amid its competitors, this new species of Razorius Gilletus only differs from its predecessor aesthetically.
Robot Swarm that can form any Shape
Koert van MensvoortMaybe in the future swarms of robots could help cleaning oil spills, provide immediate emergency help at a disaster or guide millions of self driving cars.
Robotic Furniture puts IKEA to Shame
Koert van MensvoortScience Fiction taught us to think of robots as human-like beings, yet the robots that actually make it into your home are more likely to look like furniture.
Technology Costs Evolution
Alessia AndreottiProducing an iPhone in 1991 would have cost 3,56 million of dollars.
Web Access Is A Basic Human Right
Alessia Andreotti"It's time to recognize the Internet as a basic human right" its inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee has said.
Transportations Of The Future
Francesca BarchiesiA selection of nine enthralling and striking concepts of future way of transportation.
Watch Your City at Night from Space
Koert van MensvoortLess than one millennium ago the Earth at night was all black. Today it is all glowing and blossoming.
What’s the Point If We Can’t Have Fun?
David GraeberSince Darwin we tend to look at the biological world exclusively in economical terms. The idea that monkey's, frogs, or even ants do more than simply propagate, doesn't find much acceptance among scientists. And yet, even crayfishes at times seem to displace objects just for fun.
3D Printed Fish Remove Toxins and Deliver Drugs
Alessia AndreottiResearchers from UC San Diego announced that they have developed 3D print tiny microrobots in the shape of fish able to detect and remove toxin from liquid.
A Self-Aware Mario Able to Learn and Feel
Yunus Emre DuyarSuper Mario is now able to learn and feel in the confines of his 8-bit universe.
All the Flights in the World
Koert van MensvoortIndulge in this video simulation that displays the flight path of every commercial flight in the world over a 24-hour period.
Cities Evolve in Similar Ways as Galaxies
Koert van MensvoortScientists think the laws governing the structure of galaxies in outer space are the same laws underlying the growth of cities.
Communicating with City Infrastructures
Yunus Emre DuyarA recent project, named GENESI, might make it possible for city infrastructures to communicate with us.
Digital Mountains Shouting Your Tweets
Yunus Emre DuyarEver feel the need to hear two digital mountains read your tweets aloud with deep and sonorous voices?
Drone Operated by Honeybee Brain
Yunus Emre DuyarThe Green Brain Project aims to create drones that will think, act and sense like a bee.
The Droneport: a New Infrastructure of This Century
Alessia AndreottiArchitect firm Foster + Partners announced plans to build the world's first droneport in Rwanda.
Eventually, Drones Will Be Everywhere
Hessel HoogerhuisCity of Drones puts you in a first person view of a drone drifting through an abstract futuristic cityscape.
Ever-Changing Sceneries with Microbots
Yunus Emre DuyarKirsten Zirngibl's illustrations depict imaginary landscapes that are formed by microbots.
Flights Delayed Due to iPad Crash
Yunus Emre DuyarDozens of American Airlines flights were grounded as pliots' iPads crashed.
Genome Editing - Bringing the Übermensch to a Shelf Near You
Daniel FragaLast April, a Chinese group of researchers published a paper that set the scientific world ablaze in a fierce debate. The paper was about their attempts to edit the DNA of a human …
Hacking And Controlling Cars Remotely
Robin BergmanTwo American hackers have been working on hacking cars to takeover full control of vehicles.
Puppy Delivery Drones
Yunus Emre Duyar3 Million Dogs released a funny video, which shows puppies delivered by drones.
Tiny Robots Assemble a Room in Minutes
Wei Lun WangDom Indoors , is the latest research project developed by a construction robotics company called Asmbld . It includes a robotic system that can reconfigure an indoor space within …
Bacteria and Drones: New Ways to Collect Samples
Erik van der VeenWhile a hipster-drink bacteria are hunting space organisms, robots are catching whale snot in the open ocean.
Visualizing the World Economy
Koert van MensvoortThis Is What $15.3 Trillion of World Trade Looks Like.
Every Wikipedia Article Leads to Philosophy
Alexandra BremersAccording to the Wikipedia page 'Wikipedia: Getting to Philosophy', more than 94% of all articles will eventually lead to the English article "Philosophy".
Colorless coral: How climate change is affecting the great barrier reef
Jack CaulfieldOur peculiar image of the week comes from the Great Barrier Reef. You've probably seen images of this vibrant underwater attraction before. If you're lucky, maybe you've seen it …
When FB Told Everyone They Were Dead
Ruben BaartDue to an algorithmic error, Facebook mistakenly "memorialized" vital user accounts with a banner announcing the user’s passing – turning their friend walls into memorial walls.
Glowing Planet T-Shirt
NextNature.netFeaturing different cities at night, the Next Nature Glowing Planet T-shirt highlights the enchanting beauty of our glimmering world.
This Robot Builds a House in Two Days
Ruben BaartA Bricklaying Robot builds low-cost houses in just two days.
A Fake City for Real Self-Driving Cars
Siebren de VosUber built a fake city called Almono to train self-driving cars. This town is full of fake houses, mannequins and chaotic intersections.
The Ephemeral Future of Internet Data
Nadine RoestenburgWhat the Internet would look like if all data were ephemeral?
Meteorology Captures the Technosphere
Alejandro AlvarezThere is a WiFi network illegally configured that interferes with the rain radar creating a ray of "clouds" that won't bring any water.
A Robot Will Spark the Next Avant-Garde
Nadine Roestenburg “An illegal theme park exposing the ideology of the aesthetics of hacking”. “A hybrid drone targeting technological domination”. “A psychedelic fridge to raise doubt about fake …
Personhood Status for Robots
Julie ReindlAn "electronic personhood" for robots has been discussed in the European Parliament recently, raising big questions about equality, citizenship, legal and ironically, human rights for artificial intelligent machines.
Jobs for Entrepreneurs - Robots at Work #4
Mathilde NakkenThis is post number four of our serie 'Robots at Work'. In this episode we present you five jobs for entrepreneurs, the ones who love doing big business.
The Age of Rust
Koert van MensvoortMeet the incredible new species "Petramosaurus Cavator" and discover its impact on our planet.
Lucas Foglia's photography explores the uneasy relationship between humans and nature
Laura MalloneeThere’s no place on earth untouched by human activity: This was clear as Lucas Foglia whizzed across the vast, white expanse of Alaska's Juneau Ice Field last summer. He was …
Why electric cars should be allowed to drive faster
Koert van MensvoortIn response to the nitrogen crisis, the Dutch cabinet is planning to reduce the speed limit during the day to 100 kph. In itself a sensible decision. But it is strange that this …
Pirjo Kääriäinen on new ecological biomateriality
Freya HutchingsMeet Pirjo Kääriäinen, professor of design driven fibre innovation at Aalto University, Finland. Kääriäinen founded CHEMARTS —a collaborative program at the university that brings …
In conversation with Studio Drift
Meike SchipperA flock of drones that fly like birds, drifting blocks of concrete, a choreography of opening and closing flowers. The work of Studio Drift is challenging the distinction between …
3 future farms that can feed the planet and heal it too
Karen Rial-LoveraIntensive agriculture may be nourishing most of the Earth’s inhabitants, but it’s doing the opposite to earth itself. Its dependence on singular crops, heavy ploughing machinery, …
How Amazon trees write their own autobiographies
Chris HuntTropical forests are one of the world’s largest carbon stores and they help regulate the global climate. But they’re being erased at a terrifying rate. Deforestation claimed an …
Next Generation: Shimmering nature with Elissa Brunato
Freya HutchingsThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Would you like to see your work here? Get in touch …
Suzanne Lee wants to live in a world that uses only sustainable materials
Ruben BaartBiotechnology is nearly as old as humanity itself. The food you eat and the pets you love? You can thank our ancestors for kickstarting the agricultural revolution, using …
Discussing non-human centered design with Kelvin Godee and Simon Wijrdeman
Ruben BaartWhat if design began to put everything but the human first? The needs of the human not paramount to the design process, but instead the other entities that we cohabit planet earth …
A countryside dweller's guide to the future
Ruben BaartThe current lockdown in much of Europe has city-dwellers flocking to the countryside to wait out the outbreak sweeping the continent. Seeking relief from coronavirus, urbanites …
Towards a global society as a superorganism
Ruben BaartToday we hold the ability to gather a lot of knowledge, thanks to science. We are able to watch, analyze, manipulate and change matter to the nano-level. This makes it tempting to …
Why I'm turning my son into a cyborg
Vivienne MingImagine if everyone spoke a language that you don’t understand. It’s not a foreign language–it’s been spoken around you since the day you were born–but where as everyone else …
How technology will help us adapt to climate change
Ruben BaartClimate change will transform how we live, but these tech and policy experts see reason for optimism
Meet a group of young plant scientists who share their belief in the potential of CRISPR
Marit BeerseIn the summer of 2018, the European Court of Justice (that’s Europe’s highest court) reviewed a case and concluded that gene-edited crops should be subject to the same regulations …
Next Generation: Changing the oceans chemistry with Santa Ramaherison
Ruben BaartThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
Bluehouses are the new greenhouses
Kelly van GemertFishfarming , or aquaculture has been the fastest growing food-sector for decades. This is nothing to be surprised about: fishing as a practice has been in existence since the …
Will 3D-printed mussel reefs be the next nature?
Saskia WesselingResearchers hope that 3D-printed, biodegradable mussel reefs help the growth of mussel banks.
Simulacra and Simulations
The simulacrum is never that which conceals the truth--it is the truth which conceals that there is none. The simulacrum is true. -Ecclesiastes If we were able to take as the …
Re-visualizing Molecular Science
Koert van MensvoortI vividly remember being offended throughout my high-school education because 'atoms' where consistently presented as these perfect slick round little spheres. At one time I even …
Downriver in the Lowlands
Teun CasteleinThe Netherlands is known for its outright flat landscape – its even part of the name. How come the Dutch Womans Youth Rafting Team just won the World Cup in the category …
Genetically Modified Salmon moves to Kitchen Table
Koert van MensvoortThe US Food and Drug Administration is considering whether to approve the first genetically engineered animal that people would eat — salmon that can grow at twice the normal …
Anthropomorphobia
Koert van MensvoortAre you familiar with the affliction? Anthropomorphobia is the fear of recognizing human characteristics in non-human objects. The term is a hybrid of two Greek-derived words: …
Babel Fish
SelbyResearchers are working on a language and a device that will help humans and dolphins talk with each other. Denise Herzing , a researcher and founder of the Wild Dolphin Project …
The Sound of the Blue Canary
Berry EggenBlue is a beautiful color, but its sound is simply irresistible. It is the song of the unhappy and the depressed. It is a sound that touches people. It was also the sound of a …
Conservationists Turn Their Sights on Urban Habitats
Allison GuyFor city-dwellers, the closest 'true wilderness' to be found is usually the weeds sprouting in abandoned lots. Snow-capped, postcard nature might be beautiful but is …
Dyeing Salmon Pink for Farms and Profit
Allison GuyWild salmon gets its robust pink color from a diet rich in red-hued krill. Farmed salmon are fed on fish meal, chicken byproducts, soybeans, wheat and a long list of other …
Little Green Cows
Rachel ArmstrongThe world is alight with algae fever. In this age of deep ecological design aspirations, the range of speculative design projects based on algae technology is growing. Algae are …
Next What?
John ZerzanIn this essay, anti-civilization, anarchist philosopher John Zerzan critiques the concept of 'next nature.' He argues that rather than freeing us, our self-domestication through …
A Plan to Eliminate Predators
Alessia AndreottiBritish philosopher David Pearce believes we should to stop animals from hunting and killing other animals.
Belief System Meets Operating System
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkThe façade of an Indian temple constructed from a large-scale print of a Facebook Wall.
Domestication as a Last Refuge
NextNature.netIn glass capsules endangered rainforest flora will be able to survive regardless of what happens to their natural habitat.
Meet Biomimic Alyssa Stark
Daniel FragaUsing biology as a model for innovation and progress, Alyssa Stark embodies the essence of Biomimicry.
Your Next Sneakers Are Made of Algae
Monika KozubAn ecofriendly alternative to plastic lies on the surface of waste streams.
Untouched Nature Is Entirely Gone
Margherita OlivoResearchers prove that pristine landscapes haven’t existed for thousands of years, therefore we should change or mindset before trying to save the planet.
Getting rid of that bit of unspoiled green
Sanne vander BeekThere it is. A hefty hen, with its head up high and its beak out. And a gigantic VR headset over its beady little eyes. What does this battery hen see? ‘An experience of a free …
In conversation with Teresa van Dongen, biodesigner exploring natural forms of artificial light
Kelly van GemertThere was a time when flipping the switch, and seeing a glass bulb light up, was magical to anyone in the world. Today, the presence of a light switch in a room, is something …
How a museum encourages its visitors to examine their relationship with their environment
Linda ValentaLast month I had the opportunity to immerse myself in Tokyo’s newly opened digital art landscape, the Mori Digital Art Museum. The museum stands out for it enables virtual …
Why not all buildings have sustainable green roofs
Michael HardmanRooftops covered with grass, vegetable gardens and lush foliage are now a common sight in many cities around the world. More and more private companies and city authorities are …
The Pyramid of Technology: How will we co-evolve with technology?
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkThis question is an excerpt from the Pyramid of Technology toolkit Cooking is a process through which humans outsource part of their bodily functions to technology (think …
How a 6.000-year-old fruit fly gave us cheese
John MorrisseyHistorians often trace the dawn of human civilisation back 10,000 years, when Neolithic tribes first settled and began farming in the Fertile Crescent, which stretches through …
Next Generation: illustrating the remains of the anthropocene with Louise Silfversparre
Ruben BaartThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
Next Generation: Exploring the vegetal cyborg with Marie Declerfayt
Ruben BaartThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Want to see your work here? Get in touch and …
Next Generation: Moving towards the plastic human with Max Ahluwalia
Ruben BaartThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
Blind woman sees with new implant and plays video game sent straight to her brain
Ruben BaartIt’s been over a decade since artificial retinas first began helping the blind see. But for many people, whose blindness originates beyond the retina, the technology falls short. …
Blocking the sun with dust
Vanessa Bates RamirezIn the past few years, scientists have hatched some pretty crazy-sounding schemes in the name of protecting Earth and its inhabitants. From building an underwater wall 120 …
Coffee without the beans
Vanessa Bates RamirezAs with many of the products we consume, there’s a cost beyond what we pay at the store. Producing coffee has an environmental cost, too.
How cyborg soil reveals the secret microbial metropolis beneath our feet
Edith HammerDig a teaspoon into your nearest clump of soil, and what you’ll emerge with will contain more microorganisms than there are people on Earth. We know this from lab studies that …
5 unusual technologies for harvesting water in dry areas
Manzoor QadirWater scarcity is among the top five global risks affecting people’s wellbeing. In water-scarce areas, the situation is grim. Conventional sources like snowfall, rainfall, river …
Track freshness and reduce food waste with Rui Xu
Ruben BaartImagine this: you wake up on a lazy Sunday morning, trudging your way to the fridge only to be welcomed with the smell of something rotting. Did the meat expire sooner than …
The Institute of Digital Fashion explores what's next in the industry
Ruben BaartTrading animal skins for pixels, our digital selves call for a digital wardrobe. The Institute of Digital Fashion , led by CommuneEast founder Leanne Elliott Young and Digi-Gxl …
How plastic waste is hurting women in developing countries
Kutoma WakunumaIf we are to build a greener, fairer and more equal society in the wake of COVID-19, it’s time for rich countries to end their practice of dumping plastic waste in developing …
We could power households from the scraps in our food waste bins
Ananya MukherjeeImagine if you could power your kettle using the energy generated from the vegetable cuttings quietly breaking down in your kitchen’s compost bin. That reality might not be so far …
Screen mutations and reframing perspectives with Louisa Zahareas
Ruben BaartIn the digital era of a globalized world, our screens have become a second set of eyes. Communication has advanced leaps and bounds, to a point where we cannot imagine a world …
Billionaire space race: the ultimate symbol of capitalism's obsession with growth
Tim JacksonMars ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids, laments the Rocket Man in Elton John’s timeless classic. In fact, it’s cold as hell. But that doesn’t seem to worry a new …
The Embassy of Health is designing a chronically healthy society
Eloise MaraisHow will we stay healthy in the future? Can we utilize the power of design to move towards a more healthy society?
Making an AI supermarket with Nonhuman Nonsense
Ruben BaartWhat does the supermarket of the future look like? The Embassy of Food at Dutch Design week.
The sense of privacy
Marit BeerseHumans’ natural sense of privacy helps them regulate the boundaries of public and private, but fail when trying to identify privacy risks in the online world.
Dubai will soon house the world's largest artificial coral reef
Kelly van GemertA floating sustainable city where humans can live, work and study while supporting aquatic ecosystems. Soon this will become a reality in Dubai, as sustainable real estate company …
A Dutch startup is saving the banana from extinction
Selin KirThere is a banana crisis happening right now. Our beloved yellow fruits are being threatened with extinction due to a fungal infection called Panama disease, which can wipe out …
We now have satellite traffic jams in space
Kelly van GemertIt seems that traffic jams aren't just a problem confined to Earth's highways and byways. How did this happen? And should we be concerned?
Geodesign
Nellie FriedrichWe have identified eight key defining moments that tell the story of geodesign, from ancient insight to artificial intelligence.
Better than the real thing
Written by Debbie Mollenhagen PART 1: FROM LINEAR TO CIRCULAR Designer living has become designing life. I often ask myself: did it taste like the real thing? But when I open my …
Branded Butterfly Wings
Koert van Mensvoort"A glowing green logo drawn by scientists on the wing of a genetically altered butterfly could herald the day that the insects are adorned with adverts and slogans . A team at the …
Italians Do It Better
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkTERRACINA, Italy: Before Michele Assunto hauls in his fishing net from the banks of a reed-lined canal here, he uses a pole to push the garbage out of the way. "They really need …
A More Realistic Zoo
Koert van MensvoortGoing to the zoo is a favorite summer past-time. Visitors to the Schönbrunn Zoo in Vienna will see lots of animals in recreated ‘natural’ habitats. Except this summer, along with …
Animal Sweater
Rolf CoppensNature used to be an unpredictable place of mystery. Fascinated with nature’s untamed wildness, artists created animal and floral patterns as a celebration of this phenomenon of …
Antenna Tree Mast Safari
Arnoud van den HeuvelThis picture was taken in Zambia by Sarah Los (NL) while on wildlife safari . Every fairly trained "NextNature spotter" should be able to distinguish the cellphone-tree masts from …
Designing Bugs That Eat Plastic
Koert van MensvoortIt is a well known secret that plastic hardly breaks down and almost all of the plastic ever made still floats around somewhere . With the great pacific garbage patch now twice …
Field of Waves
Koert van MensvoortParks are not nature. Parks are culture: man-made simulations of nature, carefully constructed to provide walkers, runners and mountain bikers with a recreational, yet confined – …
Human Landscape
Koert van MensvoortOur peculiar image of the week was created by artist Levi van Veluw , who reinvents the classical fine art of landscape painting, by moving from the traditional 'oil on canvas' to …
Nocturnal Life of Diurnal Birds
Matthijs.KwakEnglish Robins are forced to sing their song during the night. Not because they have figured out that music just sounds better in the dark, but because they can't compete with the …
OOMouse versus Magic Mouse
Arnoud van den HeuvelRecently were introduced, the OOMouse ... ...and the Magic Mouse . Both tools are developed to browse the ones and zeros more easily. It almost seems unfair to compare them, so I …
Organic Condom
Dr NaturalWhile out in the wilderness , I was in need for a condom. This is what I found. It doesn't look very comfortable, but having an organic lifestyle has it's price I guess? Peculiar …
The Next Hacking Frontier: Your Brain
Dr NaturalWiredScience writes: Hackers who commandeer your computer are bad enough. Now scientists worry that someday, they’ll try to take over your brain. In the past year, researchers …
Survival of the bankrupt companies
Koert van Mensvoort"In the environment this company will survive for another 500 years." From the advertising campaign of WWF Brasil. Via I believe in advertising . Related post: Wildlife is …
As smart as mice.
JurrianWhen you think of solving mazes, you think of mice. Mice have been use to do science for ages. In turns out that mice are not the only beings that can solve a maze. In fact you …
Bird + Subwoofer
Michael KluverThe Bell Isle Zoo is one of the examples of the decay of the once great city of Detroit. Situated on an island in the Fleming Channel, the zoo was shut down years ago because of …
Highlanders in the Lowlands: Re-enactment of an Extinct Cow
Koert van MensvoortAt the end of every cold winter there is a debate in the Netherlands on whether the forestry service should feed the oxes, horses and deers grazing the Dutch nature resorts. The …
ISEA 2010: Artists addressing NextNature
Ties van de WerffAt ISEA 2010 , the International Symposium on Electronic Arts, media artists and media researchers from all over the world present their work in Dortmund (Germany). This year, …
Making a Telegraph with Stone Age Tools
Koert van MensvoortThe suited guy in the video is an employee from the office of materials that goes into the wilderness to test if it would have been possible to create a fully functioning …
Nature is an Agreement
Tracy MetzNature is an agreement. Just like the nude beach. Here you keep your breasts and your crotch covered, There you drop everything and act like it is the most ordinary thing in the …
Next Nature Movie #7 – Grizzly Man
Koert van MensvoortThe sad story of Timothy Treadwell is the ultimate example of the drama a naive notion of nature can bring about. Grizzly Man (2005) opens with the facts surrounding Timothy …
Next Nature Spotter – iPhone application
While the spotting of old nature phenomena in our surroundings – birds, insects, trees, stars, etc – has a large tradition enjoyed by millions, the spotting of next nature …
Transgenic Stingrays for Fashionable Feet
Allison GuyRayfish Footwear, a company based in Thailand, has recently produced what may be the world's first genetically modified stingray. This ray exhibits an unusual, colorful pattern …
A day made of glass
DesignDirkThis video shows the design vision of Corning, a company that specializes in glass. Not just any glass, but glass incorporating technology, electronics and displays. And it sure …
Plastic Planet
Koert van MensvoortWe tend to think of plastic as a cheap, inferior and ugly material used to make children’s toys, garden furniture and throwaway bottles. But as an experiment, imagine for a moment …
System Animals
Koert van MensvoortWhat animal is so naive to come into this world as a naked and crying infant, completely vulnerable, helpless, and an easy prey for any predator? Newborn lamb or giraffe’s babies …
The Monsters We Deserve
Allison GuyRecently, a video clip has been circulating the web that purportedly shows a rabbit born earless due to the radiation at Fukushima. BoingBoing has a convincing take-down of the …
Trips to the Moon
Billy SchonenbergWhen watching a science fiction flick, it can be hard to determine what time in the future it is set, although this is a usually an integral part of the movie. However, it is …
We Domesticated Ourselves
Allison GuyOur bodies are maps of our ancestor's social lives. We evolved, physically and behaviorally, in incredibly complex social groups. Such intense sociability may have favored the …
Creating the World's Cutest Fruit
Allison GuyJust like corn, bananas , and essentially any other plant we cultivate, the Cutie mandarin is the result of a concerted effort to produce an ideal food. Mandarin oranges come from …
Dumpster Fish the Future of Farming
Allison GuyCities have seen guerilla gardens, rooftop honey production, and fire escape chicken coops. Now, urban farmers may be adding aquaculture to the mix. Headed by ex-banker …
Nature Disappears from Childrens' Books
Allison GuyIn an analysis of Caldecott Medal winning children's books, sociologist Allen Williams recently discovered that depictions of nature have dramatically declined from 1938 to …
Sight – As Second Life becomes First Life
Koert van MensvoortSo you thought your live was already pretty much media-saturated? Indulge in the design fiction film Sight and you'll realize you ain't seen nothing yet.
The Sound of Silence? An Aircraft Engine.
Allison GuySilence is a thing of the past. Just as no place has been left untouched by climate change, there is no place on earth that is not 'polluted' by the sounds of planes, ships, and …
Watch Out Whales, Humans Want Your Krill
Allison GuyKrill, those tiny members of the ocean's planktonic community, have an importance disproportionate to their size. They are a vital food for whales, penguins and increasingly, …
Artifice Earth: Adam Rutherford on the Promises of Synthetic Biology
NextNature.netAn interview about the history and promises of synthetic biology, and the problem with the word "nature".
Bye Bye Barbed Wire: Cow-Mounted GPS Will Enable "Virtual Fencing"
Allison GuyA device that remotely controls cattle's movements promises to transform the American landscape.
Our Image of Nature is Naïve
Koert van MensvoortA while ago I tried to make a landscape paintings as seen on the Bob Ross television show, yet thing turned out a little bit different in my wilderness. Nature is perhaps the most …
Grossed Out by Lab-Grown Meat? Here's 7 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Be
Allison GuyIn vitro meat is creepy, unnatural and downright disgusting – and so is every other kind of food we eat.
Hipster Hunter-Gatherers Ravage Portland
Allison GuyThe newest urban pest? Locavore sous-chefs desperate for wild edibles.
Interview: Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg, Designer and Synthetic Biology Expert
Alessia AndreottiAn interview with Daisy Ginsberg, artist and synthetic biologist.
Next Natural Goats Adapt to Climb Trees
Alessia AndreottiThanks to evolution goats can climb, shifting their ecosystems to the trees.
Rollin' Safari
Arnoud van den HeuvelAssuming that true wildlife hàs gone extinct... Who needs the real thing when you can have a Next Safari ? Let's go and hunt for the plastic birds on the beach or watch genuine …
Squirrels Are in Cities to Keep Us Sane
Allison GuyThe surprising reasons why squirrels are so abundant in city parks in the US.
You Can Never Go Back To Nature
Annalee NewitzOne of the arguments that environmentalists use against factory farming and burning fossil fuels is that these activities are "unnatural" or that they "go against nature." But …
How modern sanitation gave us polio
Allison GuyFor most of history, poliomyelitis was a relatively unremarkable disease – it caused paralysis and occasionally death, but only in a tiny fraction of those infected. It was …
Leaves & Logos Identification Quiz
Koert van MensvoortMost people nowadays know more logos and brands than bird or tree species. Go test your own knowledge. Take a look at the leaves and logos above and see how many you can identify without looking them up.
Let the Drones take care of the Biosphere
Koert van MensvoortDrones are typically thought of as flying spying robots, or even worse flying spying shooting robots. But could we also employ drones for good? The people of …
The Carnery - A Cultured Future with In Vitro Meat
NextNature.netIn vitro meat has the capacity to transform meat production as we know it, introducing an entirely new way of thinking about and interacting with food.
Wearable Technologies for Dummies
Koert van MensvoortOn the emerging field of technologies that are worn close to or on the body
Analogue vs Digital: Never Lost with GPS
NextNature.netBefore global positioning systems, we all used maps. And they could be very annoying.
GM Salmon Approved for Consumption
Margherita OlivoTime ago we wrote about the fact that US Food and Drug Administration was considering whether to approve the first genetically engineered salmon. We have a verdict: from now on …
Lab-Grown Horn to Help Prevent Poaching
Yunus Emre DuyarPembient, a West Coast startup, might have a solution to the rhino-poaching problem with its lab-grown rhino horn project.
The Sound System that Knows your Mood
Martijn BohnenBeoSound Moment is an intelligence sound system that predicts the music the user is in the mood for.
Animal Fauxtography
Alejandro AlvarezFake photography, or fauxtography, has been around since the invention of cameras and nature is one of the most popular subjects of dishonest photographers.
Australia Moves Too Fast for GPS
Mathilde NakkenThe entire continent of Australia has shifted and that's a problem for GPS, meteorologists, automated cars and even drones.
The Complex Networks of Our Planet
Margherita OlivoThis video by Nature explains the complexity of networks on our planet.
Banana by Design
Koert van MensvoortIf you compare the supermarket banana with the original wild banana the differences in size, look and taste are striking.
Experience a Real Safari, Google-Style
Margherita OlivoGoogle launched the Mzansi Experience, a virtual tour to South Africa through Street View.
Landfills Cause Changes in Bird Migration
Margherita OlivoGarbage dumps may not be very attractive places for us but they sure are for animals. A study published in Science Advances shows how certain groups of storks modified (and …
Lunar Insurrection Vol.2: Harvest Moon
Daniel FragaLunar Insurrection is a group of architects that explores the creative possibilities of the moon as a potential territory for human activity and inhabitation. In Vol.2 , their …
Explore Mars with NASA's VR Experience
Margherita OlivoExploring the surface of Mars at least 15 years before a human being in flesh and blood will be able to, this is the new ambitious idea of the people at NASA.
A Mosquito Factory to Defeat Zika Virus
Margherita OlivoThere's a factory in China that produces mosquitos and their plan is to defeat the Zika virus.
Sea Delicatessen Grow Along Highways
Mathilde NakkenWith winter just around the corner, salt trucks are getting ready to hit the road spreading tons of salt. Ice free asphalt is necessary to drive safely and keep transports …
Solar Energy: the Hottest New Currency
Lewis JustEnergy-backed money could help transition humanity to a more sustainable world, both environmentally and economically.
Animal Tsunami Alerts from Space
Alejandro AlvarezGlobal data about animal movements are indispensable in our today international networked world to understand how to safe human health and wildlife simultaneously.
Cruising Critters Travel the Ocean on Plastic
Charlotte KuijpersTons of living animals have floated from Japan to the United States traveling across the ocean on plastic junk and debris.
Ecosexuality: Make the Biosphere Your Lover
Ruben BaartEcosexuality reconceptualizes our perspective on the biosphere by having consensual experiences with it.
Interview: Lining Yao, Interaction Designer and Maker of Novel Materials
Alessia AndreottiWe recently interviewed Lining Yao, Chinese interaction designer who uses organic materials as a technology that brings us back to nature.
Lazy Worker Ants
Charlotte KuijpersA study reveals that about 40% of "worker" ants spend most of their days doing nothing, but those lazy ants make themselves useful in unexpected ways.
The age of cyborgs has arrived
Vanessa Bates RamirezHow many cyborgs did you see during your morning commute today? I would guess at least five. Did they make you nervous? Probably not; you likely didn’t even realize they were …
Adding a new dimension to marine restoration: 3D printing coral reefs
David KlingesThe local fishermen looked on skeptically. From the deck of a small motorboat, scuba divers grabbed odd chunks of ceramic – which could be described as rocky brains stuck on …
Should lab-grown meat be labelled as meat when it's available for sale?
Hope JohnsonAustralian regulators will soon be faced with a challenge: can animal flesh produced in a lab be called meat? Amid reports that lab-grown meat could be on sale this year, the US …
Your next doctor might just be a robot
Jack CaulfieldConventional wisdom says that you can’t replace the human touch in terms of medical care, but in our rapidly changing technological environment, it appears that this perception …
A next natural landscape of bikes
Alec SchellinxIt was just little over a year ago that bike sharing schemes started to take off in China. Yet in the blink of an eye, millions of bikes painted in vivid colours, popped up in and …
The Great Pacific garbage "patch" is now three times the size of France
Ruben BaartMon dieu! The swirling pile of trash in the Pacific Ocean is growing at an exponential rate. A recent study has estimated that the mass of the garbage island is four to sixteen …
Smartphone app helps indigenous communities fight deforestation
jeannedjawadiFive people suspected of illegal gold mining in Peru are in custody after indigenous community members used a system called ForestLink to alert authorities to the activity. …
Welcome to the CRISPR baby world—here’s what you should know
Vanessa Bates RamirezLast week, the gene editing world was hit by news the equivalent of a nuclear bomb. In a video on YouTube , Dr. Jiankui He at Southern University of Science and Technology in …
Iceland is mourning a dead glacier
Rupert ReadDeath certificates and commemorative plaques aren’t something you’d normally associate with a glacier. But that is exactly how Iceland recently mourned the loss of 700-year-old …
The path towards solar democracy with Marjan van Aubel
Meike SchipperSolar cells are often considered an eyesore, used for their sustainability yet not for their beauty. Installed on roofs or in solar parks, they take up precious space. Well that’s …
How biotechnology could shape the future of product design
Ruben BaartHumans have been manipulating living things for thousands of years. Examples of early biotechnologies include domesticating plants and animals and then selectively breeding them …
Oded Ezer discusses the future of typography and the importance of dreaming
Freya HutchingsOded Ezer is a typographer from Israel who never fails to push boundaries, or rather, discard them altogether. Ezer is a rebellious force that swings between commercial and …
Next Generation: Visualising the diversity of microbial species with Valerie Daude
Ruben BaartThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your coordinates as we …
Social animals are the inspiration for robot swarms
Edmund HuntFrom flocks of birds to fish schools in the sea, or towering termite mounds , many social groups in nature exist together to survive and thrive. This cooperative behaviour can be …
Smart homes could help dementia patients live independently
Dorothy MonekossoYou might already have what’s often called a “smart home”, with your lights or music connected to voice-controlled technology such as Alexa or Siri. But when researchers talk …
Why half of the world's beaches could disappear by 2100
Simon BoxallUp to half of the world’s sandy beaches are at risk of disappearing by the end of this century if no action is taken to limit greenhouse gas emissions. That’s according to a new …
Matilde Boelhouwer wants to make urban environments flower again
Ruben BaartMatilde Boelhouwer is a designer whose work speculates between art, design, science, biology and food. Matilde shapes this obligation into a studio which mainly focuses on the …
Next Generation: listening to ultrasound waves with Sheng-Wen Lo
Ruben BaartThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Would you like to see your work here? Get in touch …
A message from volcanic rocks
Laura van den BrinkAlthough it’s seductive to think of human beings as the dominant species on earth, many others play important roles too. Bacteria, insects, algae colonies, rocks and the …
How bacteria can recover precious metals from EV batteries
Sebastien FarnaudThere are more than 1.4 billion cars in the world today, and that number could double by 2036 . If all those cars burn petrol or diesel, the climate consequences will be dire. …
How can Big History help us think about the future?
Noriko Wynn'Big History' is a multidisciplinary study that seeks to put the human story into the context of a 13.8 billion-year story from the Big Bang to now.
Next Generation: Exploring cybernetic ecologies with Marie Walker-Smith
Liam BekaertThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
Science Friction explores living among companion species
Ruben BaartIs it possible to imagine other earthly stories? Can we conceive of other ways of living among different species? This exhibition explores these issues with the help of a …
Animals are shapeshifting to cope with climate change
Sara RydingGlobal warming is a big challenge for warm-blooded animals, which must maintain a constant internal body temperature. As anyone who’s experienced heatstroke can tell you, our …
The Internet of Mycelium
Kelly van GemertA lot of the ground we live on is polluted. More than a third of our soils are moderately or heavily degraded; heavy metals such as lead are increasingly found in urban soils, …
To save forests, researchers are hooking trees up to Twitter (again)
Ruben BaartIn July 2018, a century-old red oak went live on Twitter. The account @awitnesstree , tweeting from the Harvard Forest in Petersham, Massachusetts, introduces itself in its bio: …
Turn your garden into living artworks for bees
Kelly van GemertArt not for people, but for insects. That is the goal of the Pollinator Pathway project by Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg. With her concept she wants to change the way we perceive our …
Next Generation: Exploring blood, salt and iron as biomaterials with Hedwich Rooks
Kelly van GemertThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch: magazine@nextnature.net. …
Next Generation: Sensing the critical zone with Menno Brouwer
Kelly van GemertThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your coordinates as we …
Inverting the energy paradigm with Charles Eisenstein
Ruben BaartEnergy policy blah blah blah, life cycle analysis blah blah blah, energy return on energy invested, peak oil, carbon footprint, renewables, hydro, nuclear, blah blah blah blah …
Using the intelligence of plants to battle climate change
Marit BeerseLiving Carbon enhances natural traits in plants as a solution for stabilizing the climate by increasing the efficiency of the photosynthesis process.
Meet Indonesia's virtual news anchors
Kelly van GemertVirtual news anchors seem to spread like wildfire across Asia. We've witnessed Xinhua present the news from China and applauded Lisa on becoming India’s first regional AI news …
Why we need space janitors
Kelly van GemertReduce, reuse, recycle. We know the drill. But how do we cope with a junkyard in space?
Meet the BAD Awards winners of 2023
Kelly van GemertThe annual Bio Art & Design (BAD) Award encourages new artists and designers to explore the world of bio art and design. Let's have a look at the three winning projects of this year.
How to teleport sushi
Selin KirSushi designed in Japan, printed in Texas. This might sound like a wild dream, but actually became a reality during interactive media festival South by Southwest (SXSW) that took …
Enter Spa Sybarite: the luxury wellness center of our dreams and nightmares
Kelly van GemertIn conversation with film director Joshua Ashish Dawson about the future of wellness, climate anxiety and healthy cynicism India-born, Los Angeles-based film director Joshua …
20 years after Chernobyl
Rolf CoppensPripyat was built as a town for workers at the Chernobyl power station, where the world's worst nuclear accident occurred 20 years ago. The town was abandoned 36 hours after the …
Entryparadise
Written by Werner Lippert & Peter Wippermann, Curators of the Entryparadise exhibition (26/8 until 3/12, 2006, at Kohlenwäsche, Zollverein) Design is about to undergo a …
Featherless Chicken
Koert van MensvoortBehold the featherless chicken, created by Scientists at the genetics faculty at the Rehovot Agronomy Institute near Tel Aviv, Israel. The idea behind the development of this …
Metalosis Maligna
Koert van MensvoortMetalosis Maligna is a documentary by Floris Kaayk about a disease which affects patients with medical implants. Sourcing from such implants a wild metal growth ultimately …
Robotic Mule
Rolf CoppensDesigned for army uses, the Robotic mule is build for walking and carrying heavy loads through rough terrain. It also has balancing systems that keep it running when you try to …
Withus Oragainstus
Rolf CoppensJust read this article on Darpa 's work on using bugs for war effort . They are planning to make a kind of insect cyborg to use in the army. The Defense Advanced Research Projects …
Biotypography
Rolf CoppensIsraelian typographer Oded Ezer looks at the world from his point of view, through letters and numbers. So why not turn the world into typography. A short interview taken from …
Do you "MIND"?
Arnoud van den HeuvelNeuroSky (founded in 2004) innovator in "wearable" bio-sensor/signal processing systems and SEGA TOYS are developing mind-controlled computer games and next generation consumer …
Giant Plush Microbes
Arnoud van den HeuvelThe bear is a wild animal, a predator and hostile to man. Yet somewhere in the beginning of the 20th century someone caught the idea of making a cuddly toy out of it. Perhaps …
Information Decoration: Our Environment as an Information Carrier
Koert van MensvoortPicture this: it's 40,000 years ago, and you are an early Homo sapiens. You are standing on the savanna. Look around you. What do you see? No billboards, no traffic signs, no …
Little Trees - Smells to refresh your Car
Koert van Mensvoort"ROYAL PINE", "VANILLAROMA", "NEW CAR SCENT", "WILD CHERRY". Which of these smelly little trees doesn't fit in the row? After careful consideration I decided the "NEW CAR SCENT" …
Sao Paulo vs Billboards
Rolf CoppensThe mayor of Sao Paulo decided that he was tired of the wildgrowth of billboards in the city. So he decided to take them all down (not personally). This creates a very pre (or …
The 21th Century Paradigm
The history of art through the ages reveals a constancy that, by conscious or unconscious applications, provides us with an omnipresent correlation dealing with the …
Typosperma
Rolf CoppensAnother project by Oded Ezer, Typosperma is the second experimental typo project in his 'Biotypography' series. As a paraphrase on the biotechnology definition, 'Biotypography' is …
Feelings Translated to Plants
Koert van MensvoortAmbient Biomedia is an investigative project about using living beings, in particular plants, to display human lifestyle problems information. The working principle of our systems …
Bacteria That Eat Waste & Shit Petrol
Koert van MensvoortEnergy problem? Why not genetically alter bacteria to have them provide 'renewable petroleum'. Crude oil is only a few molecular stages removed from the acids normally excreted by …
Design Your Sims
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkIKEA is going to sell furniture with Electronic Arts via The Sims 2 game. Soon, it will be possible for you game addicts, to refurbish your Sims living room into your own …
Rotating Skyscraper
Koert van MensvoortRemember the wind shaped pavilion ? In Dubai they do it bigger. Architect David Fisher designed a skyscraper that rotates by wind power. Each floor rotates independently at …
Fake for Real
Koert van MensvoortFakeness has long been associated with inferiority. Fake Rolexes that break in two weeks, plastic Christmas trees, leaky silicone breasts that cause cancer, imitation caviar. Even …
Fake-Space Race
Koert van MensvoortSome weeks ago we pondered over the oddity of a space race in cyberspace . Rockets and jet-packs –so cool in the previous century– don't make sense in a virtual environment. The …
Green Blues: Biofuels add to Global Warming
Koert van MensvoortIt is official: the Green Blues has begun. Almost all bio-fuels used today cause more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuels if the full emissions costs of producing …
Observing Old Nature
Hendrik-Jan Grievink"At twilight, nature is not without loveliness, though perhaps its chief use is to illustrate quotations from the poets." – Oscar wilde Picture by Noor Bongers , shot at Sedona, …
Paradise by the Laptop Light
Paradise by the Laptop Light is a next nature event with short films, speedlectures, special guests and one laptop. It will be held on 12 September 2008 16:30-17:30, as the …
Photoshop reporters in China
Koert van MensvoortChina's high-speed train from Qinghai to Xizang worried environmentalists well before its launch in July 2006. Concerns increased after a photograph of Tibetan wildlife near a …
Remote pets
Arnoud van den HeuvelHumans have domesticated animals for thousands of years. The earliest known evidence of a domesticated dog is a jawbone found in a cave in Iraq and dated to about 12,000 years ago …
Self control freak organizes his garden
Koert van MensvoortOur friend the Self Control Freak is organizing his garden. Hover over the image above to help him get his wilderness under control.
The Presidential Harvest
Arnoud van den Heuvel" Eat the View " is a campaign to plant healthy, edible landscapes in high-impact, high visibility places, whether it's the "First Lawn" or the lawn in front of your child's …
BVPS Next Nature in LA - Pictures!
May 17th 2008. Biggest Visual Power Show: Next Nature in LA . More pictures below. We are all born in a world that has been designed already. BVPS intro video by Floris Kaayk. Big …
A day in the Dutch dunes
Koert van MensvoortRecently, I had a nice day in the Dutch dunes with the people of Blocter.com , who show the people behind blogs. We closely investigated the Scottish highland cattle that acts as …
A hermit crab in a glass house
Koert van MensvoortNever thought I would ever empathize with a hermit crab. But somehow the 'situation' the creature is in, provides me with a feeling of recognition. According to this video marine …
A Society of Simulations
Koert van MensvoortAn interviewer once asked Pablo Picasso why he paints such strange pictures instead of painting things the way they are. Picasso asks the man what he means. The man then takes out …
Bacteria that Turn CO2 into Energy
Koert van MensvoortWe’ve written earlier about man–made bacteria that eat waste & shit petrol . How about a genetically modified bacteria that can eat CO2 and excrete methane that could power …
Boomeranged Metaphors
Koert van MensvoortAt the start of the digital era, metaphors from everyday life were used – in what was then the new computer environment – in order to make otherwise incomprehensible technology …
Bugs that Turn Whole Plants into Sugar
Koert van MensvoortRemember the bacteria that eat waste and shit petrol ? How about some microbes that eat plant waste and turn it in to sugar? Now you might say you have no need for sugar as you …
Computer versus bacteria
ReneeAre bacteria faster than a computer? According a group of biological engineers they are. The scientists have done a research in which they have used the well-known bacteria …
Crowdsourced drink
Koert van MensvoortRemember the days when the flavor of a fruity drink was simply connected to an apple, orange, strawberry, kiwi, or perhaps – if you felt really exotic – an acai berry? Nowadays we …
Cyborg Insects
Koert van MensvoortScientists at the University of California created a neural implant for a beetle that gives them wireless control over the insect. Electrical signals delivered via the electrodes …
DrinkPeeDrinkPeeDrinkPee
Arnoud van den HeuvelDrinkpeedrinkpeedrinkpee is a project by Britta Riley and Rebecca Bray about the role our bodies play in larger ecosystems. It's an installation about the Urine to Fertilzer DIY …
Ear on your arm? Why not?!
ewesFor over 40 years Australian artist Stelios Arcadious Stelarc has made art with medical instruments, prosthetics, robots, virtual reality systems and biotechnology to investigate …
Five strategies of Biomimicmarketing
Koert van MensvoortGreen electricity, Organic Shampoo, Jaguar convertibles, Red Bull, Bio Beef, Alligator gardening tools, Camel cigarettes and Puma sneakers. Once you develop an eye for it, it is …
Food Design in the 21th Century
Koert van MensvoortOld nature provided us with a wide variety of food: fresh milk, crispy vegetables, nutritious meat. Yet this is not enough, we want more: We want a printed steak , square …
Google technique may also track extinctions
Koert van MensvoortBoomeranged metaphor in the news: Google's algorithm for ranking web pages can be adapted to determine which species are critical for sustaining ecosystems , the BBC reports . …
Growing a nano forrest
Koert van MensvoortJohn Hart, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan, is inventing techniques for growing carefully structured forests of high-quality carbon …
Living Root Bridges
Koert van MensvoortIn the depths of northeastern India, one of the wettest places on earth, bridges aren't built – they're grown. What could 21th century architects learn from these dynamic …
Pimp My Planet
Koert van Mensvoort"We live in a time where everything or everyone can be upgraded or ‘pimped'. After the worldwide acceptance of plastic surgery, it was time to subject our worldly possessions …
Placebo Buttons
Koert van MensvoortButtons are everywhere: throughout your day you press them on phones, alarm clocks, keyboards, elevators, dishwashers and of course on the computer screen. Although buttons did …
Plastic Birds
Koert van MensvoortBird spotting is not a typical activity for us next nature explorers, yet occasionally we bump into some birds worth mentioning (remember the amazing copy-paste bird , rubber duck …
Strategy #2: Use Nature As A Metaphor
Koert van MensvoortThe border between the first and the second category is fluid. With the products in the second category, the link is more content oriented. For instance, by calling a sneaker …
Sunlight-shaped Furniture
Arnoud van den HeuvelAustrian designers Katharina Mischer and Thomas Traxler have created a solar powered machine that makes arrays of furnishings that vary based on how much sunlight it receives over …
Think Hello
Arnoud van den HeuvelRemember Asimo ? Honda has now developped a new Brain-Machine Interface technology that allows humans to control the humanoid robot simply by thinking certain thoughts. The BMI …
Why are carrots orange? It is political
Koert van MensvoortNo, the image above does not some show some collection of freshly genetically designed hypercarrots in various colors of the rainbow. This is the spectrum of colors carrots used to have.
A tree guarding trees
Rolf CoppensI spotted this in the Dutch wilderness, forests are turning into shopping malls.
Battle of platforms
Arnoud van den HeuvelEver wondered why there is so much competition in the world of operating systems? This video made by Leon Wang illustrates that "old nature" mechanisms like survival of the …
Castle Duivenvoorde
Rolf CoppensThat Next Nature is nothing new can be proven in a walk around Castle Duivenvoorde. The castle dates back from the 11th century, while the gardens date from 1631. In a time where …
Come See the Berg!
Koert van MensvoortSo you’ve seen the peak of the Mount Everest on tour ? Descended the bobsled ride of the Matterhorn in a Disneyland ? Think you’ve seen it all? Now come and see The Berg in …
Douglas Coupland: A radical pessimist's guide to the next 10 years
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkDouglas Coupland is a writer and artist based in Vancouver. For the canadian newspaper Globe and Mail, he wrote The ‘radical pessimist's guide to the next 10 years’ a dystopian …
There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkSo you’re triggered by our call for products and now you’re considering to send in one, two or maybe three of your brilliant products for the Nano Supermarket? Good. Or – and this …
Grow-a-NanoRaptor
Koert van MensvoortNow here is an example of the fusion between the made and the born , most kids would crave for. Much better than the robotic dino toy. Designed by evolution! Hopefully this …
HappyLife
Koert van MensvoortAs our everyday living spaces are packed with electronics and become increasingly sentient, we might one day wake up in a house that knows more about your family's state than you …
In Pursuit of Artificial Flavoring
Koert van MensvoortFollowing in the footsteps of a Marco Polo-esque spice trade, next nature explorers Jon Cohrs and Ryan Van Luit travel by canoe past massive cargo ships and factories in search of …
Nano Tattoo to Monitor Diabetes
Marco van BeersNow here is something for the NANO Supermarket : Massachusetts-based Draper Laboratories have developed a special injectable ink with nano–particles. This ink eventually could …
Nine Strategies of Geo-engineering
Koert van MensvoortRecently some scientists in Britain have recommend planetary ' geoengineering ' to avoid climate change. And as politicians are listening , it is time to explore the options. New …
Self-healing Surfaces
Arnoud van den HeuvelWhat if a scratch on your car door could heal itself, just like the human skin does? Engineers are working on a way to transfer the self-healing ability of the skin to surfaces …
US Judge Rules Gene Patents Invalid ?because they are Natural
Koert van MensvoortDid you know that about 20 percent of your body isn't really yours? It has been patented by some corporation you probably never heard of. You can't patent gold, you can't patent …
City Planning with Bright Bacteria
Allison GuyRenegade architect and futurist Rachel Armstrong has proposed that our cities, currently constructed of dead trees, baked mud, and refined ore, need to be coated in a layer of …
Drugs are Nuts
Stefan FinckenThinking about Next Nature can sometimes result in a feeling of vertigo. Normal standards are eroded and slowly replaced by next natural ones. A bewildering example can be found …
Labradoodle
Koert van MensvoortIndulge in its cuteness. The Labradoodle brings us the finest blend between the labrador and the poodle. Combining sociability with beauty, they are the perfect human companion. …
![Visual of Manko & The Children [#9]](https://nextnature.net/media/pages/magazine/story/2011/manko-the-children-9/3d8fe20352-1602632753/manko9-868x486.jpg)
Manko & The Children [#9]
Aston RevolaAs they went down the elevator shaft, going deeper underground, neither Nada nor Manko spoke a word. To Manko it seemed to take forever. In his mind, he went over the long …
![Visual of Manko & The Earth [#12]](https://nextnature.net/media/pages/magazine/story/2011/manko-the-earth-12/b1f1cf8f03-1602632753/manko12-868x486.jpg)
Manko & The Earth [#12]
Aston RevolaZero: 'Where to begin? We've had many discussions in our Lab about the future of the children. The plan was simple: to raise the kids to the physical age to be 'frozen' in. Then, …
Mastering Bambi
Allison GuyIn the film Mastering Bambi, artists Persijn Broersen and Margit Lukacs have stripped the landscape of its cuddly, anthropomorphic characters. Over the course of the film, the …
My Fetal Pony: Neoteny in Girls' Toys
Allison GuyIt's no secret that Mickey Mouse has evolved in response to consumer pressures. Once a violent river-rat, he became the boy scout of rodents with good looks to match. Steven Jay …
Negative Islands
Allison GuyRecent flooding along the Mississippi River has broken records first set 70 years ago. As always, it's hard to attribute local weather to global patterns, but the heavier rainfall …
Occasionally Extinct and Virtually Alive
Allison GuyJapanese researchers are currently working on cloning a mammoth, and plan to produce a fluffy new prehistoric calf within four or five years . The bucardo, an extinct subspecies …
Poaching from the New Savannah
Allison GuyThe Ipswich Museum, the Tring Museum, and around 30 other European cultural institutions and antiques dealers have experienced a rash of theft over the last few months. What turns …
The Banana Gets a Second Skin
Allison GuyWe already know that bananas are evidence of intelligent design – by farmers, not by god. All commercial crops have been tweaked by the hand of agriculture, but modern bananas …
The Non-Human Noosphere
Allison GuyThe definition of the noosphere as "the sphere of human thought on earth" is woefully anthropocentric. It ignores that fact that our fellow sentient organisms have noospheres of …
Think Breast is Best? Try Udder
Allison GuyScientists in China have created transgenic cows that produce 'human' milk. The researchers boosted the fat content of the milk and added three types of proteins, unique to …
Video Game Logic Wins This Round
Allison GuyAdapting video games to real life has become a fairly common, jokey way of exploring the games' surreal aspects. I saw kids with balloons playing Mario Kart on my college campus, …
White Blood Cell War/Game
SelbyBlood Wars is an art-science installation that will pit white blood cells from two different people against each other in a "tournament" that aims to see which person has the …
Why Do We Love Pandas?
Natalie DixonThey remind us of ourselves We love their dexterity - thanks partly to that "pseudo thumb", which functions as a sixth digit. It's in the eyes We love their big eyes because it …
A €1,174 Chicken Coop for the Bourgeois Farmer
Allison GuyLong for farm-fresh eggs on the table? Dream about going to bed each night worrying about racoons, rats and foxes? Like the feeling of scraping chicken shit off your hands? For …
'Alp' Turns Containers into Refrigerators
NextNature.netTransporting and displaying cold food is an incredibly wasteful and inefficient process. Current display refrigerators, like those that display meats or cheeses in supermarkets, …
Antifreeze from Fish Blood Keeps Low-Fat Ice Cream Rich and Creamy
Allison GuyFat is what makes ice cream taste rich and creamy. It's called ice cream, after all, not ice skim milk. So how have some manufacturers managed to make reduced fat ice cream that …
Bacteria "R" Us
Rachel ArmstrongThere is a domain of creatures that diffusively encircles an entire planet. There are so many of them that they occupy every conceivable ecological niche. Yet, despite their …
Better Than Nature?
Rachel ArmstrongAt the turn of the millennium, miniaturized canines acquired the cherished status of living, designer handbag ornaments. These teeny tiny photogenic doggies, which had been …
Bonobos (And Maybe Baboons) Domesticated Themselves
Allison GuyWhile evidence indicates that humans domesticated themselves , we're not the only primates capable of self-domestication. Bonobos and baboons have shown they are just as capable …
Broersen & Lukács – Mastering Bambi
Koert van MensvoortMedia artists Persijn Broersen & Margit Lukács created a remake of the Disney classic Bambi from which they stripped all the inhabitants. The removal of the cuddly, …
Christian Schwägerl - Riding the Anthropocene
Koert van MensvoortChristian Schwägerl , freelance journalist and biologist, author of the book The Anthropocene: The Human Era and How It Shapes Our Planet , introduces us into the Anthropocene , a …
Featured Page #01: Hypernature
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkDuring the coming weeks, we will present a selection of our favourite pages from the Next Nature book . To kick the series off, we’ll start with a spread about hypernature; the …
Is the Human Body Redundant?
Rachel ArmstrongThe increasing ‘liveliness’ of machines and accessibility to the virtual world has raised questions about whether it is possible to uncouple the mind from the body in through a …
Meanwhile in the Next Nature Lab
NextNature.netLast week, the young and talented designers of the Next Nature lab at the Eindhoven University of Technology presented their end of semester works in an internal exhibition. There …
New Volvo Recognizes Shapes of Animals like Deer & Elk to Reduce Crash Impact.
Koert van MensvoortVolvo cars is testing a new safety system that automatically hits the brakes once an animal is detected in the vehicles vicinity. The Animal Detection System expands the range and …
Plastic Junk Helps Ocean Animals (Sometimes)
Allison GuyWhile the Pacific garbage patch is often characterized as a dense, Texas-sized island of plastic, in reality it's an area of 2,736 square km scattered with tiny, floating bits of …
The Benefits of Artificial Wetlands
JenniferIn 1994 researchers at Ohio State University created two artificial wetlands* in riverine basins in order to investigate their possible benefits, and whether they could replace …
3D Pizza Printer for Astronauts
Alessia AndreottiPrintable pizza. The next big food innovation after sliced bread.
Anthropo-scene #3: Morphing Earth, Piece by Piece
ChristianHumans act as bio-excavators that literally move mountains.
Bionic man
Marco van BeersAn showcase of what we are currently capable of installing in human beings.
Bright Streetlights Make Us No Safer, and Why That's Good News
Allison GuyArtificial lighting at night makes us fat, depressed and sick. What are the alternatives?
Deliver us from Digital Bluntness
Stephen PerryPeoples attitudes online are wholly different from their behaviours in real life
Did Booze Make Us Modern?
Allison GuyA psychiatrist argues that beer gave us civilization - but do intoxicants play a deeper evolutionary role than that?
Did Forks Really Give Modern Humans an Overbite?
Allison GuyThe food writer Bee Wilson, author of Consider the Fork , has put forth a surprising theory about forks and teeth that has received widespread online coverage. According to …
Fake-for-Real Fur from Imaginary Animals
Alice FumeyWWF teams up with designers to produce fur from imaginary animals
Google Birdhouse Shows Birds Their Way
Alessia AndreottiPutting the birds into the bird's eye view of Google Maps.
How to Turn Skin Cells into a Baby
Jonathon MarkowskiA stem cell experiment with mice may one day mean that same-sex couples could have bio children.
Why Meat Grown in Labs is the Next Logical Step for Food Production
Avy RoyLab grown meat is part of the trajectory that agricultural technology is already following.
Mushrooms to Grow Surfboards, Shoes, and Even Your House
Allison GuyMushrooms are set to replace petroleum-based packaging... and a lot of other things too.
Nature Documentary 2.0
Koert van MensvoortIronic nature documentary on the new symbiosis in the ocean between trash and wildlife. Created by Studio Smack for Greenpeace .
Next Nature saves Old Nature
Koert van MensvoortConservation workers ask synthetic biologists to help them save the world's endangered creatures and habitats.
The Artificial Touch-Sensitive Hand
Alessia AndreottiRestoring the sense of touch with an artificial hand, using a brain interface.
The Chinese Museum with 100% Fake Art
Allison GuyNew wealth and old laws mean that China is awash in forged artwork.
The Holy Grail of Immortality
Casper JacobsInjecting mice with telomerase enables them to live 24% longer than the average mouse.
Tree Caught up in the Matrix
Koert van MensvoortImagine how this tree must feel wondering "what is the Matrix?"
World's First In Vitro Hamburger Arrives
Allison GuyBreak out the ketchup: Mark Post has grown the world's first entirely artificial burger from cultured beef cells.
A Net will Collect Debris from Outer Space
Julia WeberJAXA developes a net that could collect debris from outer space.
Animals Love Technology
Alessia AndreottiA macaque stole a tourist's iPhone and fiddled around with it like a human would.
Blaming Car Technology for Dumb Drivers
Alessia AndreottiCars increasingly rely on technology designed to make driving easier and safer. But are these improvements creating less-skilled drivers?
Breaking Down Plastics with Bacteria
Alessia AndreottiTwo students found a way to break down plastics using soil bacteria.
Bugs Paintings: Mixing Art and Science
Alessia AndreottiPainter Stephen R. Kutcher uses different insects to create unique paintings.
Growing the Future of Meat
Christina AgapakisOutside of the limits imposed by the edges of an animal’s body, the cells can reproduce and multiply until they exhaust the nutrients and space provided, filling petri dishes and vats to grow the future of meat.
In Vitro Meat: Animal Liberation?
NextNature.netMany people welcome in vitro meat because of what it may mean for animals. Even though they often find the idea strange, the promise for animals is widely felt as a source of hope.
Living in the Forest in the 21st Century
Alessia AndreottiPortraits of people who live alone in the forest.
Making Seawater Drinkable with Nanotech
Robin BergmanFiltering sea water to drinkable fresh water is no longer science fiction.
Marine Plastic Creatures
Alessia AndreottiPhotographer Kim Preston transforms everyday household plastic objects into sea creatures.
NANO Supermarket Best Product 2014
Alessia AndreottiA jury of design and science experts awarded the best NANO Supermarket product a € 2.500 prize.
Nature Learned to Turn Plastic into Rocks
Alessia AndreottiPlastic can fuse with rocks to form a new material: plastiglomerate.
New Plant Paradigms
Alessia AndreottiIn this approaching era, what might be biologically possible for plants?
Retro-Futuristic Smartwatch
Alessia AndreottiIn 1981 the idea of what we call smartwatch was nothing more than a funny joke.
Salmon Cannon Shoots Fish Over Dams
Alessia AndreottiA cannon that sucks salmon up and “shoots” them out in a different body of water.
Technosphere Monitors the Biosphere
Koert van MensvoortThe rise and fall of the Earths forests can now be tracked 'real time' through a new mapping tool called Global Forest Watch.
The Earth As You've Never Seen It Before
Alessia AndreottiBreathtaking satellite images that will change how you see the World.
The First Man Made Leaf Looks like a Leaf
Koert van MensvoortJulian Melchiorri created a synthetic biological leaf that absorbs water and carbon dioxide to produce oxygen just like a plant.
To Be Human Is To Be Transhuman
Alessia AndreottiBuckle up for a new video from our favorite performance philosopher Jason Silva: To Be Human Is To Be Transhuman.
Vertical Farms Growing In Giant Trees
Francesca BarchiesiUrban Skyfarm is a giant tree-shaped farm system for environmental improvement in food production and distribution.
A Pop-Up Forest in Times Square
Yunus Emre DuyarA new Kickstarter project aims to bring the forest into Times Square.
Anthropo-scene #9: Sense, Sensors, Sensitivity
ChristianTechnology helps us understand the unfolding of the Anthropocene.
Biomimicry in Action
Abby QinAn inspiring topic about recent developments in biomimicry, Janine Benyus gave a talk on how nature influenced our future.
Diseases Of The Future
Alessia AndreottiNowadays humans suffer from diseases that didn't exist in the past, a trend that will probably continue into the future. A wide range of new disorders, especially related to the …
Drinking Water From the Air
Yunus Emre DuyarWarka Water is an alternative water source to rural population that faces challenges in accessing drinkable water.
Gene-Edited Micropigs Will Be Soon Sold As Pets
Wei Lun WangEarlier this year, a group of Chinese scientists published a paper about the modification of the genome of human embryos with the cutting-edge powerful technique called CRISPRs. …
Interview: Nadine Bongaerts, Synthetic Biologist Bridging Science with Society
NextNature.netWe recently talk to Nadine Bongaerts about the role and impact of synthetic biology, the gap between biosciences and society and the importance of communication to overcome the fear of new technologies.
Lab-Grown Shrimps Are Coming to Your Plate
Alessia AndreottiA startup called New Wave Foods is developing artificial shrimp meat in the laboratory.
Meet the Band Aid of the Future
Margherita OlivoThis potentially revolutionary device includes LED lights and temperature sensors to provide medication directly to the wounded section of the skin.
Tracking Employees' Body Functions to Improve Business Performance
Alessia AndreottiIn the quest for competitive advantage, companies adopt wearable biometric technologies to monitor employees and improve business results.
Next Nature Talk at IoTx in Dubai
NextNature.netGoing to the lustrous IoTx conference in Dubai this year? Don’t miss out the Next Nature lecture.
Next Nature Talk at Nature 3.x Symposium
NextNature.netKoert van Mensvoort will take part in the Nature 3.x: Where is Nature Now? symposium at the University of Minnesota.
Seaweed That Tastes Like Bacon
Alessia AndreottiA new seaweed that tastes like bacon and is better for you than kale.
See Through the Skin with Your Smartphone
Wei Lun WangIn the near future he ability to see through things won’t be a dream anymore with this infrared smartphone camera.
How Technology is Becoming More and More Sensitive
Margherita OlivoOver the past decade scientists have tried to get technology surfaces to be as sensitive as our skin, especially as our fingertips. Human tact is a very sophisticate interface …
The Golden Quarter
Michael HanlonSome of our greatest cultural and technological achievements took place between 1945 and 1971. Why has progress stalled?
The Plastic Problem #1: Biobased and Biodegradable Plastic
Alessia AndreottiWhat are then the actions to foster for an effective sustainability? A series of articles will try to point the plastic poblem.
Wasps Inspire Robotic Needle for Surgery
Daniel FragaThe Wood-Boring Wasp inspired scientists to create a new robotic needle which will be used in brain surgery.
3D-Printed Shell to Save Tortoise's Life
Margherita OlivoA severely injured tortoise was saved by a team of doctors thanks to a 3D printed shell.
Bio-Printer Creates Living Body Parts
Margherita OlivoBioprinter creates bespoke lab-grown body parts for transplant.
Adblock Plus Now Sells Acceptable Ads
Ruben BaartAdblock Plus, world’s most popular ad-blocking tool, just announced they are launching an advertising service for “acceptable” ads.
Begging Ghetto Blasters Hack the System
Ingmar NieuweboerBegging ghetto blasters in Utrecht are making you question poverty.
Circular Economy
Koert van MensvoortThe uncomfortable watering can ironically shows us that the size matters in a circular economy.
The Danger of a Plastic Sea
Margherita OlivoBy 2050 plastic waste will outnumber the number of fish in the sea. These Surfers are taking action and raising awareness.
Eating Plastic or Krill: a Smelly Story for Birds
Mathilde NakkenSeabirds eat floating plastic debris because it smells like food, study finds.
I Want Wings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nicholas CarrRead Nicholas Carr's essay on the transhumanist dream of having wings.
The First Baby with Three Genetic Parents
Mathilde NakkenThis year, on April 6th, a baby was born with three genetic parents: two mothers and one father.
The First Drone Superhighway
Ruben BaartUrban planners proposed a utopian superhighway for the up-and-coming organic smart city Bao’an.
Future of Food: Eating From the Ditch
Mathilde NakkenFor years scientist and farmers are researching the possibilities of eating duckweed, shoveling it out of the ditches onto our plates. This proteinrich plants can be used in animal fodders or be eaten by humans.
From Homo Sapiens to Homo Optimus
Ioana TomiciWe are entering an age of technological singularity, in which artificial intelligence and biological enhancement are combined in order to construct the next stages of human evolution.
Body hair helps animals stay clean – and could inspire self-cleaning technologies
David HuWatch a fly land on the kitchen table, and the first thing it does is clean itself, very, very carefully. Although we can’t see it, the animal’s surface is covered with dust, …
Insects are helping us develop the future of hearing aids
Rob MalkinThe human ear is a miracle of mechanical evolution. It allows us to hear an astonishing range of sounds and to communicate and navigate in the world. It’s also easy to damage and …
Interview: Leanne Wijnsma, Designer for the Instinct Who Uses Smell as Medium
Ruben BaartDutch experience designer Leanne Wijnsma designs for the human instinct and puts the sense of smell back to where it belongs, as modern hazards have shifted to the digital realm.
Interview: Pauline Van Dongen, Designer Merging Fashion and Technology
Margherita OlivoDutch fashion designer specialized in wearable technology, Pauline van Dongen researches the human body in relation to its surroundings.
Interview: Mike Thompson and Susana Cámara Leret, Designers Exploring Alternative Ways of Thinking & Doing
Ingmar NieuweboerInterview with Mike Thompson and Susana Cámara Leret.
How Knitwear Can Save Penguins
Mathilde NakkenThe penguin jumper is designed by the Penguin Foundation, an organization that rescues penguins on the Australian coast who are hit by oils spills.
What if Mosquitoes Were Only a Zoo Species?
Mathilde NakkenGenetic engineers are developing techniques to kill several types of mosquitoes.
Shark Drones Clean up the Port of Rotterdam
Mathilde NakkenIn the port of Rotterdam you might be able to cross a floating Waste Shark: a robot able to collect up to 500 kilos of trash.
Payment by Thumb
Alessia AndreottiAustralian biohacker Meow-Ludo Meow Meow implanted a chip in his thumb to make contactless payments.
Photoshop for Voice on Its Way
Monika KozubWhat if we can no longer rely on authenticity of voice recordings? A demo software to alter them premiered recently.
ReGen, the Autarchic Off-Grid Village
Margherita OlivoUtopian off-grid ReGen Village produces all of its own food and energy is being implemented in Almere.
Slenderman: the Modern Big Foot
Alejandro AlvarezThe new mythical creature hunting our imagination is called Slenderman and is born on the internet. But who is this being and how it came to be? It may just be the modern version of a much older myth.
Turn Your Cursor into a Songbird
Alejandro AlvarezThe Bird Sounds experiment, powered by Google Creative lab, is a visualization of thousands of bird songs organized by their similarities.
A Village Made of Plastic
Daniel FragaA canadian entrepreneur is trying to help reduce plastic pollution by building a village made out of plastic in Panama.
1999 - Ectogenesis Enters The Matrix
Elle Zhan WeiThe movie The Matrix brought ectogenesis to the public eye.
Animal Guided Mediation
Elle Zhan WeiAnimal Meditation uses meditation guiding sounds to to enable user to feel as if he is an animal.
Designer Anouk Wipprecht combines fashion with robotics
Alessia AndreottiWe met Anouk Wipprecht and talked about smart fabrics and accessories that can listen to our body, therapeutic fashion and the future of dressmaking.
Conversation with Dutch Philosopher Bas Haring: Robot, Colleague or Foe?
Ruben BaartWe talked with Bas Haring to discuss the conception, image and will of the robot. Read our conversation with him and update your ideas about robots.
Keeping Up with the Eagles: Birdwatching 2.0
Alessia AndreottiThis live stream video of a Bald Eagles family nesting in Florida has counted more than 72 million viewers.
Letter to Humanity
Koert van MensvoortNNN director Koert van Mensvoort writes a letter to humanity.
New in: Next Nature Memory Game
NextNature.netWe are pleased to announce the launch of the Next Nature Memory Game. Now available in our web shop, it playfully explores the shifting borders between biology and technology.
NNN Is Hiring: Managing Director
NextNature.netNNN is looking for a Managing Director to join our office in Amsterdam.
Orange Petunias Banned in Europe
Julie ReindlGM varieties of petunia are not authorized for cultivation in the EU.
Pay with Your Face
Elle Zhan WeiFace-detecting systems in China now authorize payments, provide access to facilities, and track down criminals.
Plants + Science = Meat!
Daniel FragaWhat if you could have the taste of a juicy, sizzling burger without the destructive impact of using animals for meat? That is what Impossible Foods wants to do with its new burger.
Shazam Your Plant Findings
Julie ReindlShazam for Plants app lets you catch around 400.000 plant species left on our planet through the lens of your smartphone.
Sleep and Dream Controller
Lydia HaldersDevelopers at Dutch-based company Arenar have designed a device that not only claims to improve the quality of sleep, but also induces lucid dreams.
Smell of Data Documentary on Nextnature.net
Ruben BaartThe Smell of Data documentary will make its online debut on nextnature.net.
The Smell of Global Economy
Elle Zhan WeiThe Pollution Pods installation replicates the smell and air quality of five different urban environments, forming the smell of a global economy.
Technosphere Weighs 30 Trillion Tons
Koert van MensvoortIf humans would disappear from the face of the Earth today, we would still leave 30 trillion tons of mass in the geological record. Certainly, "we were here" is written all over.
The Economy of Ecology
Lewis JustWhat if we could redesign the system to work for humanity and the planet we call home? What would the economy of ecology look like?
The Posthuman Farm
Ruben BaartWu Tzu-ning presents a posthuman reality from genetic engineering to digital afterlife.
The Robots Are Coming!
Koert van MensvoortRobots are getting stronger and smarter every day. They are taking over our whole lives. How long will I have my job before a robot steals it?
Tinder for Orangutans
Ruben BaartThe Apenheul primate park in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands, has launched a four-year experiment to study how the primates make their mating choices.
Virtual Networking, the Future Social Media
Megan Ray NicholsVirtual reality is already becoming a part of the conversation surrounding social media. Will it become the next popular social network?
Visit the Hypernatural Resort
NextNature.netDiscover the Next Nature Habitat VR and explore four future environments we might live in someday.
Visit the Techno Favela
NextNature.netDiscover the Next Nature Habitat VR and explore four future environments we might live in someday.
How AI and genomics will impact the future of making babies
Vanessa Bates RamirezAs if stand-alone technologies weren’t advancing fast enough, we’re in age where we must study the intersection points of these technologies. How is what’s happening in robotics …
Call for projects: bring your groundbreaking creativity to tackle pressing energy issues
NextNature.netWe need to change the way we power our daily lives. Burning fossil fuels is the primary cause of climate change, yet this is still our main source of energy. Much of this energy …
Counteracting Climate Change with Geoengineering
Jack CaulfieldA respected astrobiologist argues that a radical new process called geoengineering might be the only way to save us from climate change.
Digital islands: How this tiny country is embracing e-governance
Gudrun JakupsRecent years have proved that if you want to look for which countries are adopting innovative digital governing solutions, you don’t look at the usual tech suspects like the US or …
Your Next Nature guide to Dutch Design Week 2018
Meike SchipperOver time, our bodies, our food and our environment have become more and more subject to design. As designers, we hold the responsibility and have the unique chance to envision …
Interview: Jeremy Bailenson on his latest book "Experience on Demand"
Katherine Oktober MatthewsVirtual reality has come a long way. Like most technological leaps, it’s had a huge push from the entertainment industry, but current applications span a wide range of social and …
Next Nature Gift Guide 2018
The season of giving has come and to make sure you can find the perfect gift for your loved ones we have brought together a collection of Next Nature inspired goodies. Whether you …
Reimagining popular apps with the Pyramid of Technology
Alejandro AlvarezToday, there's an app for everything. They help us satisfy our cravings, allow us to communicate at all times and make it easier to share special moments. But the dark, cold …
The New Technology in Agriculture: Trees
Jack CaulfieldNew technologies are changing the landscape, but the latest trend reshaping rural environments and agriculture is agroforestry: the art of planting trees.
Face the future of intimacy with Kiiroo
Ruben BaartMeet the teledildonics, an ingenious species of bi-directionally controlled sextoys from the future, available today. These touch emulating vibrators find each other on social sex …
Why human enhancement requires technological citizenship
Ira van Keulen and Rinie van EstNew technologies – from artificial intelligence to synthetic biology – are set to alter the world, the human condition, and our very being in ways that are hard to imagine. The …
AI creates images of food that doesn’t exist (yet)
Tristan GreeneA team of researchers from Tel-Aviv University developed a neural network capable of reading a recipe and generating an image of what the finished, cooked product would look like. …
Next Generation: Delving into biophilic design with Daniel Elkayam
Freya HutchingsThis story is part of Next Generation, a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your coordinates as we …
How cities are cutting out cars
Vanessa Bates RamirezIt’s common consensus in the tech industry that the days of cars as we know them—powered by gas, driven by humans, and individually owned by all who want and can afford one—are …
The remaining numbers of endangered animal species shown in pixels
Ruben BaartToday is World Animal Day , a day to put the spotlight on man's best friends in order to improve their welfare standards around the globe. At Next Nature HQ, we honor this day by …
There are 299 trees growing in a football stadium
Ruben BaartSome centuries ago landscape painters taught us to appreciate the quality of an untouched landscape. Ever since we have been doing everything to recreate it. We camouflage cell …
Discussing bio-based material experiences with Elvin Karana
Meike SchipperThe world of design is in need of new materials that align with the urgency for sustainability. Issues such as climate change, plastic waste and harmful materials require us to …
Discover the art of the living at Centre Pompidou
Ruben BaartGo forward to nature at the La Fabrique du Vivant (the Factory of Life), the newly opened exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Exhibiting the recent works of fifty …
Why some plastic packaging is necessary to prevent food waste
Manoj DoraThere has been a surge in awareness of the damage that plastic pollution does to our planet in recent years. It has spurred a number of campaigns to remove single-use plastics …
Watch this robot fish swim through the ocean
Vanessa Bates RamirezEarth’s oceans are having a rough go of it these days. On top of being the repository for millions of tons of plastic waste , global warming is affecting the oceans and upsetting …
The Coming World: ecology as the new politics
Ruben BaartIn science fiction and popular science, 2030 is often suggested as the year in which our planet will run out of oil. Similarly, 2100 will be the year that, according to …
Smart cities could give the visually impaired a new outlook on urban life
Drishty SobnathTravelling to work, meeting friends for a catch up or just doing some shopping are often taken for granted by people with no known disabilities. For the visually impaired, these …
What is a species?
Henry TaylorA koala bear isn’t actually a bear, it’s a marsupial. Whales aren’t fish, they’re mammals . Tomatoes aren’t vegetables, they’re fruit . Almost nothing is actually a nut . Peanuts, …
Electric cars might not yet be green, but we should buy them anyway
Ranald BoydellTransforming the way we travel is an essential part of tackling the climate crisis. The transport sector contributes about 20% of global carbon emissions . In the UK the figure is …
A path to humane technology
Koert van MensvoortIn 1486, six years before Columbus dropped anchor in the New World, the 23-year-old Italian nobleman Giovanni Pico della Mirandola penned a passionate discourse on the unique …
Next Generation: Growing technology with Prosthetic X
Ruben BaartThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
Five ways AI could make your car as smart as a human passenger
Max EizaDriving long distances without a passenger can be lonely. If you’ve ever done it, you might have wished for a companion to talk to – someone emotionally intelligent who can …
Hello, superorganism
Koert van MensvoortWhen I was a kid, my parents took me to the beach every summer. We’d swim in the ocean and play on our inflatable raft in the surf. When the tide was low, I’d build a sand castle …
How my chatbot fell in love with me
Tim DaalderopThe virus is forcing all of us to sit at home. While we are allowed to have social contact—albeit at an appropriate distance, intimate contact is hard to find. How to cope with …
POND is a symphony of lights and water
Nellie FriedrichHave you ever gone a day without water? Most likely you have experienced low energy levels or fatigue after a few couple of hours. Water gives us energy. More than that, water is …
How future fashion could help us cope with isolation
Ruben BaartToday we cannot meet, touch or hug our loved ones. And while we all like the feeling of the touch of another human being, physical contact does not just feel nice, it is crucial …
Next Generation: Searching for Null Island with Deborah Mora
Ruben BaartThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
Next Generation: Designing modular fashion with Mathilde Rougier
Ruben BaartThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
The new Next Nature book is here!
Next Nature DevWe live in a world in which we control the biology of a tomato at such precision, you could think of it as a product of technology, instead of a product of nature. Think about it, …
Design your Self!
Next Nature DevWho are you, who do you want to be, and what do you need to do to get there? We are constantly pushed to lead the perfect life. The media present us with a picture of an existence …
The technosphere is outweighing the biosphere
Ruben BaartOur deficiencies have always driven us, even among our distant ancestors, back in the last Ice Age. Having neither the speed and strength to hunt large prey, nor sharp teeth and …
What we can learn from The Social Dilemma
Vanessa Bates RamirezIs social media ruining the world? Dramatic political polarization. Rising anxiety and depression. An uptick in teen suicide rates. Misinformation that spreads like wildfire. The …
5 Dutch exhibitions you cannot miss this summer
Ruben BaartInterior based on bacteria, spaces morphing perception and the merging of man, animal and machine. These five must see exhibitions in the Netherlands explore the intersection of …
Exploring the society of trees
Tracy MetzIn conversation with Canadian researcher Suzanne Simard, inventor of the Wood Wide Web.
It's been fifty years since we took the first full photo of Earth from space
Robert PooleThe image of the whole Earth as seen from space has become a symbol of the environmental movement. Time for an update?
Can we grow wood in a lab the same way we grow meat?
Ruben BaartIn old nature, wood is grown in the forest. In the next nature, wood might be grown in a lab. Akin to the process of growing in-vitro meat , researchers in Velásquez-García’s …
Bio textiles: meet three designers reimagining materials using biotechnology
Alexandra KisielewskiThe world needs interdisciplinary creators who are designing not just for humans, but for the rest of the living planet. To foster this thinking, Biodesign Challenge (BDC) pairs …
Evolving In Vitro with Yuval Yancovitch
Kelly van GemertWith 7.9 billion people and counting, the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations predicts that by 2050, food supply needs to grow by 70% in order to accommodate …
La Belle Verte imagines a world of harmonious existence
Leanne VoshellUtopianism and dystopianism are themes often found in today’s movies, especially considering the increased awareness of the damage done to the Earth by human activities. Often …
Can microbes communicate with alien species?
Ruben BaartAre we alone in the universe? The famous Seti (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) programme has been trying to answer this question since 1959. American astronomer Carl …
Mojo Visions augmented reality contact lenses kick off a race to AR on your eye
Ruben BaartThe digital world has been creeping closer to your face. Was a time when a laptop was about as personal as you got with a computer. Then came smartphones, and a few years later, …
Next Generation: Exploring non-binary futures with Lena Kuzmich
Ruben BaartThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
How the ECO Coin could bridge the gap between sustainable farming and monetary returns
MaithriFor the last six months millions of Indian farmers have been marching through the national capital in an effort to repeal the laws that they believe would end guaranteed pricing …
This year's electronic waste weighs more than the Great Wall of China
Vanessa Bates RamirezIt’s widely known that the world has a plastics problem. What’s less widely known is that we have a similar problem with another kind of waste: electronics
Meet the lungs of the sea: phytoplankton
Abigail McQuatters-GollopPhytoplankton are microscopic algae living throughout the ocean’s surface waters. They can’t swim and are at the mercy of the currents and tides. Despite their small size, …
What Julia Watson is reading this summer
Ruben BaartIn an era of high-tech and climate extremes, we are drowning in information while starving for wisdom. Architect Julia Watson imagines a design movement building on indigenous …
Why urban gardens are crucial for conserving bees and butterflies
Ruben BaartAs humans have industrialised farming to feed a growing global population, pollinators – animals vital for plant reproduction – have seen their food supply decline. In the UK, …
Exploring assisted evolution with Prof. Dr. John van der Oost
Marit BeerseAssisted evolution raises complex questions. The practice involves human intervention to increase the rate of natural evolutionary processes. A technique that inevitably …
Beware of the Smombies: how smartphones affect our infrastructure
Kelly van GemertNext time you are taking a walk to work, have a look around you. You will probably notice that most of your fellow pedestrians are glued to their phones, rather than enjoying the …
Next Generation: Adorning bio embellishments with Aradhita Parasrampuria
Ruben BaartThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
FIBER Festival 2022: an exploration towards an alternative future
Marit BeerseFIBER Festival explores the future of a changing world through audiovisual art, daring conversations, and experimental electronic music.
Next Generation: Producing glass from ashes with Benedikt Peirotén
Marit BeerseBenedikt Peirotén has started a project called ‘From the Ashes’ proposing using waste streams to replace the energy-intensive ingredients in glass.
Jurassic World scientists still haven’t learned
Ruben BaartJust because you can doesn’t mean you should – real-world genetic engineers can learn from the cautionary tale. “ Jurassic World: Dominion ” is hyperbolic Hollywood entertainment …
The Limits and Beyond: A report about the future
Marit BeerseIn 1972, the Club of Rome published The Limits to Growth, a report about the future of the world. They described the limits of the world’s resources and what it is capable of …
Personalise your gut health with Microbiota To Go
Ruben BaartIn the supermarket of the future, part of the Embassy of Food at Dutch Design Week, designer Merle Bergers will present her project Microbiota To Go.
Next Generation: (Un)learning Time By Light with Valentine Maurice
Kelly van GemertThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
Next Generation: Writing a design manifesto with Pleun Wilting
Ruben BaartThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
Sónar Lisboa: a festival for body and brain
Ruben BaartSometimes a festival can be so much more. Tapping into arts, design, and electronic and experimental music festival, Sónar Lisboa (8-10 April) is one for the body and for the …
Why Borghildur Indriðadóttir wishes to perform on the Moon
Kelly van GemertWhat is the meaning of art on the moon? Artist on the Moon is the latest project from Icelandic visual artist Borghildur Indriðadóttir , who aims to perform for the stars and …
Afrofuturism explained by Professor Julian C. Chambliss
Ruben BaartThe new sci-fi musical “ Neptune Frost ,” set in a Rwandan village constructed with computer parts, tells the story of an intersex hacker and a coltan miner who lead an anarchist …
Organs from genetically engineered pigs may help shorten the transplant wait list
David KaczorowskiDemand for life-saving organ transplantation is at an all-time high. In 2021, a record 41,000-plus organ transplants were performed in the U.S., with top numbers for kidney, liver …
People are now having sex in self-driving taxis
Selin KirIn the evolving scenery of self-driving taxis in San Francisco, passengers are getting frisky in the backseat of driverless taxis.
Next Generation: Designing chairs with mealworms and Will Eliot
Kelly van GemertWilliam Eliot designs chairs while collaborating with mealworms.
With this sound recognition technology scientists can eavesdrop on nature
Lucas ZarzosoWhat if humans would be able to listen to what nature has to say? Conservationists are trying to grasp non-human sounds , which might help us to better understand environmental …
Tesla enhanced Lotus, now Lotus returns the favor
Koert van MensvoortLo and behold the new Lotus Eletre Hyper SUV car. It shouldn't be allowed to exist, yet you may meet it in traffic soon.
Food after flood: what's on the menu when sea levels rise?
Kelly van GemertAs sea levels climb, coastal communities brace for floods and erosion. Artist Allie Wist asked herself: what will we eat in a flood-filled future?
How to design your (home)office
Govert FlintDesigner Govert Flint proposes a new office concept, entirely based on movement and play.
The Material Futures of Central Saint Martins
Zeynep KunduracilarMeet United Matters, a London collective exploring how we might live in the future by blurring the boundaries between craft, science and technology.
Nature Loves Technology
Next Nature DevWe interviewed William Myers and Emma van der Leest, curators of Nature Loves Technology, our exhibition at Floriade 2022
5 must see exhibitions in 2023
Selin Kir1. THE FUTURE IS PRESENT Design Museum Danmark How will contemporary design define the future? THE FUTURE IS PRESENT grasps the very essence of Danish artistry of material …
Potatoes from Mars
Ruben BaartIt might sound like the title of a bad horror movie. But cultivating potatoes in space may soon be more than just fiction. Scientists and biologists are currently using simulated Mars and moon soil to experiment with space farming. One of them is space farmer Wieger Wamelink.
Sonograms of planet earth
Eleni Maragkou, Kelly van GemertTechnology can help us to connect with our surroundings. Think about the microscope: it revealed ecosystems beyond our visual reach allowing us to look at the smallest inhabitants …